“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
Our Father,
We praise You that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We ask that You make our lives a garden of Your Holy Spirit. Fill us with the fruit and beauty of Jesus as the Holy Spirit does His work in our lives and in our midst. Thank You for placing your Spirit in our hearts as a permanent resident and pledge of the final harvest of redemption.
Father, keep us alive to your extravagant LOVE for us in Jesus, for this is the supply we need to love others well. Only the intensity of Your love can melt our hearts, conquer our prejudices and free us to love everyone equally and unconditionally. Lord Jesus, grant us a JOY fuelled by Your delight in us, a joy that transcends our circumstances, sabotages our excuses and turns our whining into worship.
Jesus, you are the Prince of PEACE, and we ask that Your peaceful presence calm our anxieties, tame our fears and diffuse our anger. May the Holy Spirit teach us PATIENCE that we may live for listening, not reacting, for rushing to Jesus, not rushing to judgment. Help us to see Your longsuffering heart and hand at work in all things and all people.
Our Father, help us to realise that there is never a reason for us ever being curt, rude or harsh and help us to lead more with Your KINDNESS than our rightness. Show us that we don’t need to keep up appearances, but to live GOODNESS in our thoughts, words, and deeds, like Jesus. Develop within us FAITHFULNESS, so that when we make promises, we will not fail to follow them through to completion. Help us learn from You, for great is Your faithfulness.
In a world of harshness and violence, we ask that You give us a GENTLENESS that will sand down our rough edges, smooth our prickly tendencies and soften our edgy words and tart reactions. Throw some fresh Holy Spirit fertiliser on us, that we might be like You. Our Father, empower us to embrace the freedom of SELF-CONTROL and to take responsibility for ourselves. Help us to hold our tongues and to choose life giving words over words that bring death.
We ask all of this in the fruit-bearing name of Jesus. Amen.
If you have any prayer requests, please contact our Pastoral Care team at prayer@heathdale.vic.edu.au.