Week: Patience
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
Let’s start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Holy Spirit, You help us grow, each and every day, into who God made us to be. We’re ready to be changed a little bit more by You today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Zoë
Psalm 62:5
I find rest in God;
only he gives me hope.
Psalm 62:5 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re returning to the book of Galatians to REFLECT on Paul’s list of what he calls the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Read by Zoë
Galatians 5:22-23,25
The Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong. We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23,25 (NCV)
Patience is the ability to wait, or to keep going, without getting upset or frustrated if things are taking longer than we hoped or expected. For Christians, patience is also about trusting that God is with us and is doing something, even if we can’t see it yet.
As we stay connected with God – as we keep our roots firmly in God’s faithfulness – then the fruit of patience will slowly grow within us.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When is it important to be patient? Maybe we can think of some times when we’ve needed to be patient.
It’s easy to get upset or frustrated when things are taking longer than we hoped or expected. One way to practice being patient is to pause and take a few breaths, like we do at the start of every Lectio for Families. Let’s do it again now.
In… and out.
In… and out.
Holy Spirit, fill us and grow Your fruit in us… especially the fruit of patience.
Throughout this week, we’re going to be thinking, and praying for, people we know who might need more of the fruit of patience in their lives – people who seem upset or frustrated because things aren’t changing quickly enough. Let’s begin by asking God who to pray for today.
Father God, as we whisper the names of those who come into our minds, we ASK You to fill them with Your Spirit, and to grow some ‘patience fruit’ in their lives this week.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Galatians 5:22-23,25
The Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong. We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23,25 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Holy Spirit, we say YES to the good fruit that You are growing in our lives. We want all the fruit of the Spirit, but we’re particularly ASKing that You grow more patience in us and through us this week.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Psalm 62:5
I find rest in God;
only he gives me hope.
Psalm 62:5 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
Unathi lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband and 5 kids; and has a passion for seeing families thriving.
You’ll most likely find her homeschooling the tribe, reading, writing, or dreaming about the next DIY project.
She also loves good coffee, dark chocolate and hiking.
Zoë Thandeka (Thandi) lives in Guildford, in the UK, with her family. She loves football (her favourite football team is Liverpool FC), Top Gear and car-spotting. When she’s older, Zoë wants to be a photographer or work with animals in some way.
