Help me to be patient, Lord

My patient Father, I’m coming to You today as I ponder the beautiful Hebrew word for patient…

”longsuffering.”

My suffering feels so long right now. So, please grant me Your longsuffering patience right now, into my impatience. Amid continual trouble, please help me to be patient as Galatians 5 fruit of Your indwelling Spirit, patient as “longsuffering.”

When I fear my faith will fail,

Christ will hold me fast;

When the tempter would prevail,

He can hold me fast!

(“He Will Hold Me Fast,” Habershon, A. R., 1908)

You are patient, Lord

I praise You that You are “slow to anger” (e.g., Ps. 86:15; 1 Pet. 3:9). This definition for “patient” is so humbling when I re-realize how much I deserve Your anger for my sin. But You are

a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6).

I could never keep my hold,

He must hold me fast;

For my love is often cold,

He must hold me fast.

You’re so patient with me that You gave Jesus for me. You gave me to Jesus. Not only are You slow to anger, but You’ve removed Your righteous wrath for those in Christ.

My suffering is not Your anger toward me! In Your great patience and overwhelming love and grace, You have completely lifted this from me. I am now Your beloved in Christ! Oh Father, thank You!

I am precious in His sight,

He will hold me fast;

Those He saves are His delight,

He will hold me fast.

Help me to show Your patience to others

God, please help me to be patient with Your 1 Cor. 13 love. “Love is patient…love is longsuffering, love is slow to anger.” Fill me with Your patience with others. So many are dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, turmoil, anger, despair, and grief. This whole earth is “groaning together in the pains of childbirth” (Rom. 8:22 ESV). My entire family is watching, young children and teens are watching, and friends are watching because they know I am Yours.

Yes, I’m suffering…just as every person has since Genesis 3. But You’ve kept me on earth today instead of bringing me to my true and eternal home with You. Many sufferers don’t know You. So they’re ripe for realizing they need Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Father, is this a particular time for me to rest tightly in Your patient and merciful love for me as one who belongs to Jesus? To then joyfully share the gospel with others? To share that those who

have been justified by faith…have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1 ESV)?

To rejoice that

the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:23 ESV)?

With Your gift of patience, could my suffering point others to Jesus?

He’ll not let my soul be lost,

Christ will hold me fast;

Bought by Him at such a cost,

He will hold me fast.

Please help me to be patient in this suffering

When I’m impatient with my suffering, please remind me that…

with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Pet. 3:15 ESV). 

Your timing is vastly different from mine. Your waiting has grand and glorious purposes I can’t imagine. Your patience means repentance and salvation for Your people.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9, emphasis added). 

Lord, Your patience is on display in my suffering because I’m unified with Christ (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:1; 1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 5:21). Maybe it’s part of Your kingdom work, as a witness of gospel hope to others who need redemption. 

There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents (Lk. 15:10 ESV).

Maybe it’s Your loving gift to help me continually re-turn to Jesus in my impatience.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer (Rom. 12:12 ESV).

He will hold me fast,

He will hold me fast;

For my Savior loves me so,

He will hold me fast.

Help me to sing to You as I wait, with patience in suffering

Holy Spirit, please fill me. Help me respond to my suffering with Your fruit of active patience. I can’t possibly do this other than by Your power, grace, and transforming work in my heart. You ARE holding me fast in my suffering as I

wait eagerly for adoption…the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope, we were saved…if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience (Rom. 8:23, 25 ESV).

Like the Psalmist David, please help me sing as I “wait patiently for the LORD” (Ps. 40:1 ESV). You heard his cries, and You hear mine. My patient God, please do as You did for David in his suffering and help me to sing praise to You this week.

In the name of Jesus, my Savior and my Lord, amen.

Material adapted from Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character in Our Suffering, Lauri A. Hogle. Copyright © 2022

A gospel-centered playlist to sing-pray for patience

I wrote this before my husband and I took a long, unplugged trip to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. As long trips and their many challenges often go, I ended up using this prayer for God’s patience a lot over the trip! Silly me…I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t be able to hear my downloaded music without internet access. I’m so thankful for memorized Scriptural songs! God knew I needed to praise Him with songs that focus my heart on His loving patience with me in Jesus, as I prayed for His help to be patient in my impatience.

Are you there right now too?

Let’s sing the gospel to our hearts, praising our Father for His loving patience toward us. My suffering heart needs continual gospel-centered reminders when pain and stress are intense. I need to praise God for His longsuffering love for me. The singing itself helps!

He will hold us fast!

It’s my joy to share my professionally curated playlists as gifts with you. If you’d like to receive this week’s YouTube playlist with lyrics to sing-pray for patience as we praise our always-patient Father, sign up here, and it will come to your email!

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