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.
We 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 REFLECTING on some verses from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome where he talks about trouble and patience.
Read by Zoë
Romans 5:3-5
We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts.
Romans 5:3-5a (NCV)
We all have troubles in our lives – things that don’t go the way that we want them to. In today’s verses though, Paul says that good things can sometimes come from troubles, like patience.
Some of the troubles that we may need patience for are small things, like… waiting for someone else to finish in the bathroom, or for our turn on a computer game, or for something we’ve ordered to be delivered, or for dinner to be ready when we’re hungry. But sometimes our troubles feel bigger, and being patient feels harder, like… waiting for test results at school, or for someone we love who is sick to get better.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What have we waited for this week? Did we manage to wait patiently?
God doesn’t actually promise that all the things we wait patiently for will turn out exactly the way we want, but God does promise that if we wait patiently with Him, He will be with us and will give us the strength and the hope to keep going.
Father God, as we think of the ‘troubles’ in our lives at the moment, we ASK You to grow patience in us – give us the strength and the hope to keep going.
Now, let’s think of someone we know who is struggling with a particular ‘trouble’ in their life.
Father God, we ASK You to do the same thing that we just ASKed for ourselves – grow patience in them. Give them the strength and the hope that they need to keep going.
Maybe we could send them a message this week, just to let them know that we’ve been praying for them?
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.
Romans 5:3-5
We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts.
Romans 5:3-5a (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Father God, You are faithful. Even when things don’t work out the way that we want them to, You’re still faithful. We say YES to waiting patiently and to trusting You, no matter what happens.
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.
