FYI - Fruit... grows

A dear friend of mine (Terri... you know who you are) and I used to amuse ourselves about how life taught us one thing concerning prayer... we won't pray for patience. Why you say? Well, I wrote the following for my friend John when he asked me why. Of course today, Gabi said the hardest fruit of the Spirit for her is patience, and I promised her this mini-lesson to her. Enjoy and Smile!

The definition of Patience is in and of itself enduring or waiting. It's willful and deliberate, and doesn't just happen. Patience is mentioned several times in the Bible, but in no case is it ever simply granted, at least that I can find.

Colossians 1:11 says "strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; ..." Patience therefore is attained, not just bestowed. Based on this scripture, I would say it's far better to pray for strength than for patience :) Later in Colossians (3:12) it states that we should "put on" patience. Again an action with purpose.

Patience is listed as a fruit of the Spirit, along with Love, Joy, Peace, Kindness, Goodness and Faithfulness. The very nature of fruit is that it's produced. It grows, and is a sign of health. Love grows, Joy grows, Peace grows, etc... They grow as a sign of the work of the Holy Spirit within each believer. All these fruit are characteristics that must grow, they are not inherent and are not gifted to us. We learn to be loving, we learn to be kind, we learn to be faithful. They are not part of our inherent nature.

So... this is why I don't pray for patience, because it is learned and it is grown... in order for it to grow, God will put me in situations where patience is required and thus... I learn to be patient. I figure that in life, I've got lots of life lessons that teach me patience without adding a few for good measure!