Power of a Praying Woman 10/17/06 9:02 AM Page 121
Lord, Plant Me…
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soothing, peaceful, and easy to be around. The Bible says, “a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all” (2 Timothy 2:24). “The wisdom that is from above is ?rst pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). Being considerate of the feelings and needs of others by exhibiting gentleness shows you are responding to the Spirit of God and what has been planted in you has taken root. Pray that you can be as gentle and meek as Jesus was (2 Corinthians 10:1). 9. Plant seeds of self-control. Self-control is not fragile like a strawberry plant; it’s big and solid like an apple tree. Only God can plant something of that magnitude in you and make it bear fruit. Having no self-control means you do whatever pleases you no matter what the consequences are. Pray that you will not be powerless against the forces that tug on your soul. “Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness” (2 Peter 1:5-6). Ask God to plant self-control in you that will grow up like a tree of strength. Ask Him to help you to rein in your passions, desires, and emotions and make them subject to His Spirit. He will give you the self-discipline you need. If you’ve not been bearing the fruit of the Spirit in your life the way you’d like, ask God to help you plant good seeds and pull up any weeds that may have grown up around your soul. Feed the soil of your heart with the food of God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to water it afresh every day. As long as you abide faithfully in the true vine, I guarantee you’ll produce a crop of spiritual fruit that will make your heavenly Father proud.