from our Lay Leader
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and yet I hear many Christians say that they don’t pray for patience. They are concerned that if they pray for patience God will make them wait for things they do not want to wait for.
I don’t understand this. To me, not desiring patience is equivalent to not wanting God’s will. Patience is the desire for God’s timing in all things and the willingness to give way on our own desired timing. To not want patience is to put one’s desires before God’s.
So I boldly pray for patience, knowing that if God grants me the gift of patience, then I can work cooperatively with Him according to His timing and not my own. And instead of being frustrated in waiting, I will not perceive the passage of time to be waiting at all, but as a time of peace and consolation in God’s presence.
Patience is not simply waiting. It is the virtue of putting the interests of others before our own. Patience is allowing others to have their way, especially when their way is in opposition to our way. Being patient is to say to God, “Not my will but your will be done.” Being patient is to say to our brother or sister, “Let’s do it your way.” Being patient is to say to our enemy, “Here is my other cheek.”
Paul tells us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25). In other words, we are to live our lives at the pace of the Spirit. Thus, if we don’t have the fruit of patience, we are likely to be marching to our own beat and out of step with God. Asynchronous marching is a deterrent to accomplishing God’s will.
I hope that you will pray for patience.