Why Should We Pray to GOD for Patience?
Praying for Patience... in many ways echoes many of the chapters in the Books of the Psalms and the Prophets. How many times have yours and my wilderness prayers resembled the people of those Books. Like us, all they wanted was not to just to survive but to endure with faithfulness and strength. That is what being patient looks like.
If we are open to learn a little something, those Books will ‘learn’ you something more, and a bit deeper than you could with a spoon.
Reading and obeying the Scriptures has taught me and many of you great lessons on faithfulness in testing and trials.
Folks, we are not the last to stumble through periods of being “slumped over” in concern and the weightiness of life. We are “standing” in a long line of those who said, “I want to finish well”, “I want to stay steady”, “I want to be wholehearted”.
LORD, strengthen my steps and steady my heart. I pray that my endurance will be rooted in Your Covenant Love. Father, renew the vigor of Your faithful ones, so we all can run with Your purpose in view, walk with intentional patience and stand up with the courage that comes from the Holy Spirit.
As for me, teach me to remain faithful in the small things and steadfast in the storms. I am learning that is part of the definition of patience. I want to finish the race You’ve set before me with joy, integrity, and love.” What a task that is!
A bit embarrassed, I will share this… Like many of you, I grew up with the understanding that “praying for patience” was a fool’s errand.
Asking GOD for patience seemed to be desiring a dreadful scenario to walk though. I never considered that request to be one of the BEST and WISEST requests I could have ever asked of Him.
The definition of savlanut [patience] in today’s modern usage is explained as “the ability to endure something unpleasant, a delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” As you just read, patience is not a passive waiting but an active effort to carry a burden or tolerate a difficult situation without increasing suffering.
The core focus of patience is not the shallow, passive version we often imagine, but the deep, muscular, Biblical kind.
NOTEs: Look at patience as being steady under the strain of life. Look at patience as being calm under pressure. Look at patience as us exhibiting internal and external faithfulness in the waiting.
In the Biblically ancient usage, savlanut is the verb saval, which means “to bear, to carry, to endure, or to suffer.” It is not just about waiting calmly; it carries the deeper sense of bearing burdens and enduring hardship with dignity.
The Romans 5:3 address is where we find the often quoted, “tribulation worketh patience”. Who would really want trials in order to achieve said patience? Is there another way? Does the Scriptures present a different option?
if we care to, willingly enduring tests and hardships will generate a level of urgency in our dedication.
That is truth at the very center!
How does a believer go about teaching other faithful followers to trust GOD more deeply and to endure all the stuff faithfully? They can’t. We are unable to do that, but trials, suffering and hardships are really good at doing that task.
It’s not that suffering itself is good… Who would EVER honestly say that? However, when we pull out the 20/20 binoculars of Mr. Magoo, we would then be able to “see” that GOD used all of our stuff we just came through as the soil in which patience grew inside us. Man! What a way to grow that spiritual plant.
Consider David asking ADONAI to “create in him a clean heart, and renew a right spirit with him…”
Let’s put this on a personal placard, “Holy Spirit, please teach me to trust GOD more deeply and to endure faithfully this situation I am in”.
That actually sounds cool. We all need it. Right?
I am ALWAYS learning something. I’m about to share one of my latest school sessions with you. Yes! It does harken back to patience. There is a phrase called “erekh appayim”.
Here is a phonetic cheat code for that word: Eh-rek-ah-pah-yeem
Erekh appayim is an idiomatic expression that literally translates to "long of nostrils" or "slow to anger".
NOTE: In the old school Biblical Hebrew mindset, a quick-tempered person was thought to have a "short nose" (short-tempered), causing their breath (and anger) to flare quickly.
On the contrary, someone who is erekh appayim takes a "long breath," meaning their anger is delayed, allowing time for mercy and repentance before judgment. I am slipping in a “Selah” right here.
Selah…
I’m reminded, this term is a primary attribute of GOD proclaimed in Exodus 34:6, which is often translated as "longsuffering" in English Bibles.
Both terms used in this share for patience are strong, and they emphasize that Biblical patience is a solid quality involving endurance and self-control when faced with provocation or difficult circumstances. It REQUIRES you and I to ‘trust in GOD's timing and His Character’.
The center of patience is progression in endurance. Is it a simple acquirement? Surely you jest.
The underlying idea is that patience (endurance/perseverance) is not a simple return that springs up overnight; it is a godly quality of character that is built and strengthened through real-life challenges and waiting periods.
The LORD uses this [patience] as a practical and useful teaching method. I’ve been around people who hold this view and believe the LORD GOD answers the prayer by putting you (and I) in circumstances that require us to wait, trust His timing, and not act on impulse.
Have you EVER experienced any of these?
…job hunting?
…dealing with difficult people?
…health challenges?
Looking to ADONAI for patience as an opportunity for growth really is a good move! If we step back or to the side to look at this from a spiritual perspective, these trials are seen as valuable instruments that shape our faith and help us to mature, rather than feeling as if we are literally being punished in a crucible.
Rather than considering it being a "dangerous" prayer to be avoided, a sincere request for patience is an invitation for the Spirit of GOD to work in your life.
We all need character development. Who does not want a better relationship with the Son of GOD? Well…
If he or she does, they will require deeper faith and trust. We must know that waiting on GOD’s timing and plan and enduring hardship forces a reliance on His Strength rather than your own limited abilities or desire for immediate gratification.
This ACTIVE trust strengthens yours and my faith and helps us align with the will of the Father.