A Prayer to Be Patient with Your Progress

0:00Life Audio Thank you for listening to Your Daily Prayer, where we help you find the words you need to connect to your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening in your life today, you can trust that God wants to hear from you. Right after this short word from our sponsors, we'll pray through today's prayer to be patient with Your progress. We talk a lot about purpose here, about finding the path God has set for us. And when it comes to education, that path should lead to a future that matters. That's why I love Grand Canyon University. They're a private, non-profit, Christian University in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona, that believes education shouldn't be a privilege, but an affordable path forward for everyone.

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2:08Terms of life. See Discover.com slash 5 for details. A prayer to be patient with your progress. Written and read by Lea Gerard. Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. First Corinthians 13-4. Although every word of scripture is God breathed and equally remarkable for that reason, I can honestly say I'm in love with 1 Corinthians 13. Famously termed the love chapter or sometimes the hymn of love, it's a reservoir of wisdom and insight on what love does. Many biblical scholars consider it the Apostle Paul's most lyrical literary masterpiece. It's a living, still relevant portrait of pure love.

3:12Even better, every single time you see the word love in this chapter, it's translated from the original word agape. This kind of love is the highest and most unconditional type of love that doesn't require any relation, condition, or achievement. It's also a conscious choice that implies no guaranteed reciprocity. It's the term for the love God has for his creation, including you. This love chapter is aptly divided into three parts, a number biblically associated with the nature of God, and ends with a final verse proclaiming the greatest of these is love. The first part of 1 Corinthians 13 describes the vital importance of love. The second shows the effect in the nature of love, and the third covers the eternality of love. It's also written in such a way as to be powerful in its suplicity, in accessibility and rhythm.

4:16Of course, it's often used at weddings to honor the love you give away to another, but it's also intended to encourage self-compassion. The first Corinthians 13 4 says that love is patient. It doesn't only mean with your spouse, children, friends, neighbors, strangers, or co-workers, it also means giving your self grace and permission to be exactly where and who you are, to be patient with your own growth and progress. This goes hand in hand with offering yourself kindness. You can do this by refraining from harsh self-criticism or thinking your current status isn't enough. You are the one who can give yourself the agape love you need to nurture your mental and physical well-being. This kind of healthy self-love also does not envy, which means that negatively comparing

5:18your own pace or achievements with others is not loving. Agape love allows you to live the life most suited to you because you are uniquely designed and loved by God. Being patient with your own progress can lower the compassionless anxiety that tends to creep in when you're tempted to compare. The balance of first Corinthians 13 4 affirms that love doesn't boast and it isn't proud. There's an opportunity to pause. Ask yourself if you're being impatient with your progress because you want others' recognition and applause or if you want to feel a prideful superiority over others. Does the impatience stem from a need to boast or rise above others? Or can you instead choose to be patient with all you've endured, changed, overcome and offered, discovered and explored thus far, whether or not your journey has been slower,

6:23faster or less visible than others? You are invited to consider first Corinthians 13 4 and the whole chapter as a love letter from God to you. Savor it as a reminder or a meditation that you can say to yourself because as you learn and foster the qualities of self-compassion found in first Corinthians 13 4, you get better at giving this gift called love to others. Let's pray. God I catch myself trying to do so many things at once that I start to behave in ways that are less than loving to myself and as a result to others. Please pull me back into your acopé love. Teach me through your love chapter how to see myself as enough, how to believe that I am unconditionally lovable. I pray today for you to wash me of the pressure and anxiety I cause myself by feeling like

7:26I should be more accomplished or further along in comparison to others. Talk to me that this life of mine is yours and that you love me right here and now. Please fill me with self-compassion so that I can practice the kind of love that reflects you to others. Thank you for loving me just as I am. In Jesus' name, amen. Your daily prayer is a production of life audio and sale of media. If you liked what you heard today, be sure to follow our sister show Your Nightly Prayer. You can find your nightly prayer at lifeaudio.com or in your favorite podcast app. By following your daily prayer and your nightly prayer, you can be sure that your day begins

8:27and ends. Center it on the Word of God and prayer. Hi, I'm Beckett Cook, host of the Beckett Cook Show. I lived as a gay man in Hollywood for many, many years until I had a radical encounter with Jesus 13 years ago. Since then I've gotten my Master's degree in seminary and published a book called A Change of Affection. On my podcast, The Beckett Cook Show, I sit down with fascinating Christian scholars and thinkers to address the lies of the culture and bring the biblical truth to bear on those lies. To start listening now, go to lifeaudio.com or search for the Beckett Cook Show on your favorite podcasting platform. I'm Mark Vinet, host of the Historical Jesus Podcast, which presents the new series Miracles, focusing on biblical miracles from the old and new testament. Join me on the Historical Jesus Podcast as I explore the interesting, compelling, intriguing,

9:27and wonderful miracle stories of the Bible and the many great miraculous events inspired by the words and deeds of Jesus Christ.