Should We Pray for Patience?

By: Jenifer Metzger

Growing up in the church, I regularly heard the phrase "Don't pray for patience." I heard people say it and I heard pastors preach it. Even as an adult I've heard these four words spoken quite often.

Why would people say don't pray for patience? It's simple really. If you pray for patience, surely God will give you something to test those patience. So many think that it's basically praying for trials to come! Case in point, as a new believer my husband prayed for patience and later that week he was laid off from his job. He decided all those people warning against this prayer were right!

Then a few years ago, God was speaking to my husband about patience so he went to the Word where God led him right to the Fruits of the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,

peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The law is not against such things.

Galatians 5:22-23 CSB

If patience is a Fruit of the Spirit, why would we not want to pray for it? We should desire to grow in all nine of the Fruits of the Spirit, including patience.

Recently I was having somewhat of a rough day. Dogs acting out, all the grandkids were over and quite cranky, and a lot to accomplish in the day. I felt the stress of it all and began to cry out, "God, give me patience!" I quickly caught myself and thought, "Oh no! What did I do? It's going to get worse!" But then I remembered that patience is a good thing and it is good to ask God to give it to us. So I cried out once again, "God, give me patience!" Dogs were still crazy, grandsons still cranky, and I still had a lot to accomplish. The difference was, I felt calmer, I felt better equipped to face what was going on in the moment. I felt more patient.

Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy

and dearly loved, put on compassion,

kindness, humility, gentleness, and

patience, bearing with one another and

forgiving one another if anyone has a

grievance against another. Just as the Lord

has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.

Colossians 3:12-13 CSB

The Bible even tells us to put on patience. When I think of those two words put on, my mind automatically goes to putting on my shoes. I put on my shoes to prepare to leave my house. Something to protect my feet as I go on a walk. Something to protect me against the elements. Even while in my home, I put on slippers to protect my feet.

In the same sense, we need to put on patience. When we practice patience, we are protecting ourselves from whatever may thrown our way. Driving along and suddenly there is a major traffic jam, put on patience. Waiting in line at the grocery store and the clerk is taking too long, put on patience. The kids are acting out, put on patience. Your husband is late coming home from work, put on patience.

The enemy wants us to get riled up. He wants us to be impatience. So when we let everything get to us and begin to feel the tension of everything going on, we have two choices. One, we can play right into the enemy's hands and be impatient and all that comes with that -anger, yelling, fighting, crying, sadness, etc. Or two, we can put on patience and practice that Fruit of the Spirit and watch how we grow in the Fruits.

Praying for patience just might result in being tested, but what better way to know you are growing in the Fruits of the Spirit and in your walk with God. The more you pray for it, the more you are tested, the more you will grow.

Discussion:
1. Have you ever prayed for patience and then been tested in that area? What did you learn?
2. Does praying for patience sound scary? How can you ease the fear and move forward with this prayer?