Our friends are some of the most important people in our lives. Although we share many wonderful memories with them as we grow and mature, the periods when we struggle with our faith, family life and other issues are the times when our friendships really reveal their substance.

Jesus provides us with the perfect model of how to be a friend to others. He loved his friends greatly, counselled them, forgave them and led a righteous life as an example for them to follow. His love for his friends and his relationship with them had a great purpose – to bring them closer to their Father in heaven.

Today, we can also have a friendship with Jesus and allow Him to do all these things for us, too.

But not everyone has this kind of relationship with Him, or if some people do have some kind of relationship with Jesus, it might not be as strong as it needs to be. And that's where those who have a good friendship with Jesus can step in and help.

One of the greatest things that we can do for our friends is to support them in their faith journey. How we do this will differ depending on their weaknesses and our strengths. But if we're ever in need of some guidance, the Bible outlines how we can be a good friend and encourage those closest to us.

Here are 11 Bible verses about the beauty and significance of Christian friendships.

Do you have friends who are special to you? Why not send them these verses today and tell them how much you value them. And, if you're finding it difficult to find the right words to reconnect with a close friend, these verses can also inspire and motivate you to get in touch.

Proverbs 18:24 – "One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 – "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

Proverbs 27:6 – "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."

1 Samuel 18:1 – "After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself."

1 Corinthians 15:33 – "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'"

John 15:13 – "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Proverbs 27:17 – "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

Romans 12:10 – "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour."

1 Thessalonians 5:11 – "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

Job 2:11-13 – "When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathise with him and comfort him."

Proverbs 17:17 – "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity."