Have you ever been stuck at a traffic light and felt like it was the longest red light in history? There’s one particular light between my house and my office that feels that way. So I timed it today. From the time the light turned red until it turned green again…it was 90 seconds. Not exactly an eternity.

Or have you ever walked out of your house, gotten in your car, started it…and then had to wait several minutes for whoever else is going with you? A few minutes can start to feel like half an hour pretty quickly.

Maybe you’ve told yourself you’re going to be more patient, that you’re going to stop yelling at your kids or your spouse or your c0-worker. And then you lose your cool again.

We could all use a little more patience, right?

Have you ever prayed for patience? I can hear someone say, “Be careful what you pray for! God will give you circumstances that require patience.”

And maybe that’s true. But I think praying for patience presupposes that’s what we actually need. Or that praying for it is how to get it.

Let me suggest something different.

Galatians 5:22-23 says: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Those are all character qualities we’d love to experience more of, right? But Paul doesn’t tell us to pray for those things. He very clearly says they are the “fruit of the Spirit.” We don’t work harder to get them. We don’t pray for them. They are a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in us.

We don’t need to pray for patience. We need to more fully surrender to God’s Spirit who lives in us. Then He will produce the fruit we desire. By the way, these aren’t fruits of the Spirit. They’re fruit. Singular. When the Holy Spirit is in control of us–He manifests His life in us and through us. And He is all of these things.

A few verses earlier, Paul says: So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

Do you need more patience? Or love? Or joy? Or kindness?

Then allow the Holy Spirit to guide your life. Surrender to Him.

You may not be patient, but He is. And He will be patient through you.