Prayer for Self-Control/Temperance .............. Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5: 22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is ……..meekness, TEMPERANCE: against such there is no law.
For this post we will look at the the final aspect of the fruit of the spirit which is TEMPERANCE. In the NIV the word SELF-CONTROL is used instead of the word TEMPERANCE. The word self-control  is self explanatory, however, I would like  share with you the definition from the New Ungers Bible dictionary which states: the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites. In other words having control over our “temper and emotions”.
Controlling our temper and emotions seems to be a difficult thing to do for most of us. We frequently will hear people justify their actions as being triggered by another person or thing. Whereas we cannot control other people’s action, we certainly need to know that we can control ours. We do have a choice of how we respond when confronted by certain situations. Because it is an “all you can eat buffet”, does not mean that I need to eat myself sick. Because the driver cuts me off, it does not mean I give him the finger, because a male may pay me a compliment , does not mean I need to  pursue a realtionship, because the cashier gave me too much change does not mean I put it in my wallet and leave. In all these situations I had the choice over my actions.  In other to control our emotions and passions we need to first start with the mind, we need to make sure that our minds are renewed daily with the word of God. We need to pause before we react and think of what would Jesus want us to do,counting to 10 may not be enough.

Father, I pray that my children will exhibit the fruit of self-control/temperance in their everyday life. Control over their emotions and passions, knowing when to say No, or Yes, or when to walk away. I pray that they will renew their mind with your word, and will pause before reacting to situations.  That they will not see this as a weakness but as a strength. As I pray for them, I pray that I too will exhibit before them this fruit of Self-control/Temperance in the way in which I respond to situations. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Of such there is no Law” Any person who exhibits these virtues of the fruit of the spirit, cannot be condemned!!!!!

In his Service,

Vilma  

Prayer for MEEKNESS - fruit of the Spirit

For today’s post we will continue to look at the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5: 22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is ……..MEEKNESS, temperance: against such there is no law.

MEEKNESS is a fruit of the Spirit that tends to be quite misunderstood by many.

What is Meeknes? According to the strong’s concordance the Greek word for Meekness is Praotes which means gentleness or humility. A furthur look at Humility denotes a lowliness of mind, an inwrought  grace of the soul that allows one to think of himself no more highly than he ought to think (New Ungers Bible Dictionary). The word gentleness, expresses a spirit of willingness and obedience and a lack of resistence to God’s dealings with us (New Ungers Bible Dictionary).

Most people associate meekness with weakness,and tend not to admire people who are meek. I prefer to agree with those who describe meekness as strength under control.

Meekness is a very important characteristics for christians.  Jesus addresses the issue of meekness in his teachings of the sermon on the Mount known as the Beatitudes. He said “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth”  So in order for us to inherit the earth that Christ has placed us in we need to have an attitude of meekness. The bible gives us examples of people who were meek,Jesus Christ was our greatest example, and at no time could he be mistaken as weak. At all times He had His strenth under control. Moses was another example of a person who was Meek, He delivered the Children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness millions of complaining people, there was nothing weak about him.  Numbers 12: 3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)  
   Having an attitude of meekness, is saying that we are dependent on someone other than ourselves and we do not get upset about things as we have the confidence that God is working things out on our behalf. In today’s society it would seem like agression is the way to go, bulldozing our way through people to get what we want, being loud and argumentative. Unfortunately as christians we cannot go with the world’standard.
Is it easy to be humble, and to think of others more highly than ourselves, to express a spirit of willingness and obedience and a lack of resistence to God’s  dealings- No but it is doable, why? God does not ask us to do what is impossible, that is His Job.

So here is our prayer for our Children: Father I thank you for my Children. I thank you that you want the best for them at all times. Father I thank you that you are the greatest example for us to follow, and that there is no temptation common to man for which you have not given us a way of escape. I pray that the spirit of Meekness will be manifested in my children. Help them to realize that by being meek they are showiing their confidence and dependence on you. As I pray for their meekness, help me as their mother to also be an example of meekness before them, In Jesus’s name Amen.

In His Service,

Vilma

Prayer for Faith/Faithfullness Fruit of the Spirit

The fruit of the Spirit is…………FAITH, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Faith was previously addressed in my blog post on August 22, 2011.  I will include some of the information that was presented in that post, Just in case you prefer not go to the archives to find it.

The Greek word for Faith is “pistis”, which is translated as belief, trust, reliable and faithful.  The fundamental idea of Faith in the scripture is steadfastness and faithfulness.

Hebrews 11:1 now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (NIV).

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (KJV).

Faith is extremely important for Christians.  The bible says in Hebrews 11:6- And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (NIV).

 Put another way we cannot please God by our works, we can only please Him if we Trust/ believe in Him and in what He has done for us.  How would you feel if some person who you have always being kind and helpful to over the years, one day decides that they no longer believe or trust in your ability to help them?  Remember you have always been there for them, always come through for them.  I believe that this would make very unhappy, I know I would not be pleased.  This is what happens when we do not trust or believe the things that God promises to do for us, even when we know what His track record is. 
I often hear people saying things like “you have no faith” or he or she has more faith than I do.  However I would like to disagree with statements like this.  Here is my reasoning:
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

The measure refers to a specific unit of measurement or amount.  If the Bible said a measure of Faith, then I could agree with you because it could mean that the amount of faith given differed according to what was used to measure it- a spoon, a cup, a glass or a bucket.  So why do some people seem to have more than the next person.  I would say that the more one exercises his Faith the more his Faith grows.  

In addition to having trust and a belief in God, we need our children to exhibit a character of faithfulness, and loyalty in their everyday life.  They need to exhibit faithfulness to God, to their family, in their church, on their job, in their school. As we pray for our children to exhibit the characteristic of FAITH, we need to make sure that we are an example to them of what it means to be faithfull.

Father, I thank you for my child/children.  I pray that they will develop trust, belief and loyalty in You and in your Word and as they grow in their trust, belief and loyalty for you this will be translated into a life of faithfulness in everything they say and do.  In Jesus’ Name Amen.

In His Service,

Prayer for Goodness - fruit of the Spirit

But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, GOODNESS, faith ……of such there is no law.  

GOODNESS is the next portion of the fruit of the Spirit that we will look at in today’s post.  To fully understand what we are asking for when we pray for our children to exhibit goodness as a part of their everyday lives, let us look more closely on what Goodness means.
  The Strong’s concordance Greek translation of GOODNESS is agathosune {ag-ath-o-soo'-nay} which means virtue or beneficence.  We can further define the word virtue as a benefit, a quality, an asset, or a plus.  The word beneficence on the other hand (from an ethical point of view) usually means “to do no harm”.  

Why should we strive to be good, or to do no harm to others?  Why should we strive to do the right thing and to do it for the right reason?  According to Pastor Melvin Newland, “One of our problems with goodness is the same problem we have with love.  The word "good" is used in so many ways, just as we use the word "love."  I do agree with this statement.  The word good does seem to be used indiscriminately and sometimes glibly and takes on the meaning of its context.

Our Standard for what Goodness is should be patterned after Jesus- that is the type of goodness that we should strive to exhibit.  The Bible tells us that Jesus went around doing good- He did no Harm

Acts:10: 38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Jesus went around doing good.  We also can, and should go around doing God.  He did not choose to do good to those who could reciprocate; neither did he do so just for those who followed Him or Loved Him.  He did good whenever there was a need.  A key point to notice is that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power as well as the fact that God was with Him.
The act of goodness should originate from the heart; it is not an act to draw attention to us.  Again this may be difficult to achieve, however it’s attainable.  This same power that Jesus Christ had while He was on earth is the same power that He left with us when He returned to heaven.  He also left the Holy Spirit with us and we too can get this anointing upon us.

Father I thank you for (insert name/names).  I pray for the spirit of goodness to be exhibited in their life.  I pray that they will seek to always do good and not evil to others.  Father I pray that they will not just do good things to be seen but will do good things as a prompt from their hearts.  As I pray for this attribute to be exhibited in (insert name/names) I pray that I myself will become an example of goodness to them.  In Jesus’ name. Amen

Prayer for Kindness/Gentlenss- Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5: 22: But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, KINDNESS, goodness……….against such things there is no law (NIV).
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, GENTLENESS, goodness, faith……..against such there is no law (KJV).

Today we will focus on “Kindness” or “Gentleness which is another aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. The word gentleness in the Greek is translated  usefulness, moral excellence(in character or demeanor) good, kindness. God wants us as christians to exhibit a character and demeanor that reflects moral excellence.  Showing Kindness is a tangible way of expressing the love of God to others. This Kindness or Gentleness that we are asked to demonstarte is not just for those who treat us right but even to our enemies or people who mistreat us. This is certainly not an easy thing to do, but again it is possible. God does not require impossible things from us. We can look at this as a process, that we need to continue in daily, and we will find that it gets easier each time. Gentleness or Kindness does not mean that we are weak or a push over as some may think. No it is a necessary fruit that we need to bear. We need to exhibit a moral character, in our home, at our jobs, in school, at the supermarket, driving on the street, yes and even when you feel like you are being backed in a corner. We have been given this gift, we need to use it, not put it away.

Father, I thank you for my children. I thank you for the gift of the fruit of the Spirit that you have graciously given to them. I thank you that included in this is Kindness/ Gentleness. I pray that they will exhibit this aspect of the fruit in their every day life. Help them not to react to situations but to think things through carefully then make the right decisions. Help them not to show kindness only to those who are kind to them but instead they will be kind and compassionate to everyone. As I paray for this for my children, help me to also exhibit kindness and gentleness towards them and others, setting a physical example for them to follow. In Jesus name, Amen.

In His Service,

Vilma

Prayer for Patience or Longsuffering

But the fruit of the Spirit is?

Galatians 5: 22: But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness……….against such things there is no law (NIV). In the KJV the word longsuffering is used instead of the word patience.

What does patience/longsuffering mean? In the Greek translation this means endurance, constancy, forbearance or fortitude. Patience is that calm and unruffled demeanor that one exhibits in the face of tribulation or turmoil. It means that you can have love joy, and peace even over a period of time when people and events annoy you. God does not easily get irritated with us and hence we should not be easily irritated with others. See Romans 9: 22

²² What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?  I guess

If Satan is unable to overcome us by force then he will try to wear us down, the only way to overcome this is to remain patient and wait for Satan to get tired of his own game.

For this week let us pray for our Children to exhibit the spirit of Patience and Longsuffering in their everyday life.  In today’s society it would appear that patience is a thing of the past, it seems like every one is impatient, parents get easily impatient with their children and children with their parents, we get impatient with other drivers on the road, impatient as we stand in lines to be served.  We get impatient with the elderly, impatient with our job.  We want things yesterday, as put by someone- we are in a microwave age- where everything is fast.  We no longer write letters, we e-mail or text and with texting we use the shortest possible way to get our message across (like C U later, or 2morrow).  I am not saying we should remain in the dark ages, but we really need to slow down some.  I hear it so often, a patient is prescribed a medication today in the evening and they call you first thing the next morning to say it doesn’t work because they are not back to normal.  As we exhibit patience it allows us to reflect, to think, make right decisions and it builds strength and character in us.  It is possible to exhibit patience, as a Christian, we have the fruit of the spirit- Love, Joy, Peace longsuffering/patience, let us start to use it.  Let us wear Satan down, instead of him wearing us down.  Do not give in let us endure to the end.

Father, I thank you for my child or children.  I pray for the manifestation of Patience in their lives, with their friends, in school, with their co-workers, with their spouses and their own children. I pray that as they abide in you that patience will become easier each day. I pray that they will remember that they can do all things in Christ who gives them strength so being patient is possible. As I pray for their patience, I pray that I will be an example for them by exercising patienc with them. In Jesus’s name Amen.

In His Service,

Vilma

Prayer for the Manifestation of the Fruit of the Spirit---------Peace

As we continue to continue to pray for the manifestation of the fruit of the spirit within our children, I hope that you believe that this is possible.  Again let me reiterate that God does not require us to do things that are impossible.  Whatever He requires from us, he has given us what we need to work with to achieve it. 

The third fruit of the Spirit that I want us to look at then pray about is Peace.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, PEACE,  ………..

I do believe that there are quite a number of people who would like to have peace in their lives.  Peace of mind, peace at home, peace on the job, peace with their neighbors, peace in their country, peace in the world.  Why does peace seem so elusive, when it is something that we have withon our reach?  What happened?  Why can't we grab a hold of it?  Here are some verses to confirm that we have peace.

John 14:27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Romans 5:1: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I believe the problem is not with having peace but the problem is with how we access and utilize this peace which we have.  Are we looking for peace according to what the world defines as peace?  The peace that Jesus left with us is one that will keep us settled and without fear or anxiety even when things are chaotic all around us. The peace that the world gives to us is temporary and changes according to our circumstance.

Isa 53:5: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  This verse is telling us that Jesus had to go through death on the cross for us to have this peace, we cannot take it for granted.  

Here is a secret to us obtaining this peace -let us look at Isaiah 26:3: Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on thee]: because he trusteth in thee (KJV).  From looking at this verse peace is accessed by having our mind stayed or focused on God.  We focus on God through meditating on his word.  The more we know about Him and his attributes, and what he promises , and his ability to execute His plan, the more we become confident that whatever we are going through, and whatever the circumstance , we should not worry or fear- “God’s got it”

It is imperative that we not only seek peace but pursue it. This is made clear to us in Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.  As much as possible we need to go after peace, in our minds, our homes, at our jobs and with our neighbors, just to name a few.  Trust me I know this is not an easy thing to do, but it is possible. When we exhibit this kind of peace, people cannot understand us, they cannot figure out why we are not losing our minds. Let us look at Phil 4:7

Phil 4: 7: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Having God's kind of peace preserves our hearts and minds.

As we pray for peace to be manifested in our children, pray also that as their mother you will also exhibit this peace.  As you pray encourage them to read the word of God, send them scripture verses that will help to promote this.  Giving gifts like a daily devotion book will be helpful for them to develop a pattern of being in the word daily.  For those whose children are younger, demonstrate how to amicable settle disputes, how to pray over situations that may be stressful and overwhelming.  For most of us, achieving this type of peace may take us a while, but it is possible to achieve it as shown above.

Here is our Prayer: father I pray today for your peace to be manifested in {insert name (s).  I thank you God that when you left this earth you left us your peace, a peace that passes all understanding.  I pray that when {insert name (s)} gets anxious or fearful when faced with certain situations, that they will remember that you are with them and that you want him/her to cast his/her care on you.  Please help them to stay focused in your word getting to know who you really are and come to trust you more.  In Jesus name.

In His Service

Vilma