Bible verses for every occasion

Bible Verses for a Friend in Need

When someone you care about is struggling, it is hard to know what to say. These verses can be sent as a word of love, or held quietly as you learn how to stand beside a hurting friend.

“A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Proverbs 17:17, King James Version

True friendship shows up most in the hard seasons.

“Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

Galatians 6:2, King James Version

Love carries the weight it cannot fix.

“For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone.”

Ecclesiastes 4:10, King James Version

No one should have to fall alone.

“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”

Romans 12:15, King James Version

Sometimes presence and tears say more than advice.

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11, King James Version

We are meant to build each other up.

“Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.”

Proverbs 27:9, King James Version

A faithful friend's honest care is a healing thing.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13, King James Version

The measure of love is what it will give up.

The One these verses point to: Jesus

The best thing you can give a hurting friend is not the perfect answer but a steady presence, which is exactly what Jesus gives. He called His followers friends and then laid down His life for them, proving there is no depth He will not go to for the ones He loves. When you sit with a friend in their pain, you are doing what He does. And you can point them, gently, to the Friend who never leaves.

You do not have to hold this moment alone. You can ask real people to pray with you, find a church near you, or, if you would like a gentle place to begin, start with Jesus here.

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