Prayer Focus: The Fruits of the Spirit:: GENTLENESS.
Central Scripture: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I order you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3)
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank You today for Your humility in coming in the person of Jesus. You willingly stepped from Your throne into our broken world, never considering Yourself too good to bother with us and the mess we had made. Thank You for having that kind of love for us, that never considered the cost to be too much.
Lord, I lift up my family today in humility of spirit. I recognize that I can only do so much for them, and that it is You and only You who can change their hearts and cultivate lasting fruit in them. As I give them to You and submit them to Your will for their lives, I pray that You would give me peace that You only want the best for them.
I pray today, God, that through Your Spirit, my family would bear the fruit of gentleness. I ask not that You would make them spineless and weak, but that in Christlike meekness they would consider others over themselves. Help them to have Jesus’s humility, never thinking of themselves as higher, more important, or of greater position than anyone else.
Lord, as my husband goes through his days, help him to be gentle. The world’s way for men is to create a name for themselves through power and position, but I pray that instead, his life would be about making a name for YOU through humility and gentleness. Help him to boldly go against the trends and expectations of society to seek out Your purpose for his life. I pray that in difficult conversations, he would put the other person first, hearing them out and responding as Jesus would. I pray that in difficult situations, he would seek Your guidance before the insight of others. I pray that in matters of character, he would seek to model himself after You before the examples he sees around him. Generate in him a desire for meekness, not to create a name or reputation for himself but to build up Your name in this world.
And Father God, please help my children to learn gentleness. From a very young age children exhibit the tendencies of the flesh: “Me, first!” “Look at me!” “Mine!” I pray instead, God, that as my children grow they would be constantly stepping out of the way to let the light shine on You. I don’t want them to be overlooked for opportunities, but I do want any recognition they receive to be in light of how You are working within them. If they are faced with bullies and difficult people, help them respond like Jesus. If they are in situations they’ve never faced before, help them to look to Jesus above their instincts or the advice of others. Let their daily interactions be characterized by their gentle and quiet natures.
Lord, You have come to unite us under the Spirit. I pray that through the power of that Spirit, You would cultivate the fruit of gentleness in my family, that we would be agents of unity and love in a world that seeks to divide and conquer. Help us to act in humble gentleness, bringing honor to Your name.
Amen.