Patience has a twin—faith. Kenneth Copeland calls patience and faith “the power twins,” and with good reason. Often looked at as a giant goal to attain, patience is more like the vehicle that takes your faith to the finish line—where manifestation and victory are found. In fact, faith won’t get you where you want to go if patience isn’t there to undergird it, strengthen it and keep it from caving in. Hebrews 6:12 tells us that those who inherit the promises of God are those who employ both faith and patience in their journey. Without patience you will give up and you’ll never see the answer you desire. Your faith will wear out.
You just decide to have patience any more than you can decide to have faith. Yes, God gives everyone a measure of faith, but it has to be developed. Faith is developed by hearing, speaking and acting on the Word of God. And that takes practice! Patience is developed through tests and trials (James 1:3) and through practicing walking in the spirit to grow the fruit of the spirit, which includes patience.
If you want to get to the place where you can stand in faith as long as it takes to obtain the promise, you can get there! But if you aren’t operating in patience in every area of your life, it’s going to be very difficult to be patient while you wait for a manifestation. If you’re ready to make a change, here are three ways to practice patience every day.
1. Practice Patience by Letting Love Rule Your Life
What does love have to do with faith and patience? Everything. Patience includes enduring wrong and ill treatment without anger or the feeling of revenge. It means enduring with people as much as it means enduring through a trial. Love, joy, faith, patience—these are all interconnected. If one is missing, the others won’t work right, and you’ll be left wondering why you aren’t getting a manifestation. Patience springs from love. The Bible says “love is patient” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
So, if you want to have patience that fuels faith, you’ve got to be walking in love and showing patience to those around you. That means your life will reflect the following:
- You don’t snap at people when they frustrate you.
- You don’t make critical or rude remarks to others.
- You are not easily angered.
- You assume the best about others.
- You don’t respond impatiently in stores or on the road.
- You are a patient spouse and parent.
- You don’t become frustrated by the passage of time in any given situation.
- You don’t expect Christians to be perfect. You have patience with their spiritual growth, just as God has patience with you.
- You have patience at all times and in all situations.
Lester Sumrall said, “Long-suffering (patience) is love on trial, love refined and selfishness conquered.” So, if you struggle with patience, you’re struggling with love. And if you don’t have patience working in you, you are not going to reveal a Christlike image to the world.
2. Practice Patience by Correcting Yourself Quickly
As you work to practice patience in every area of your life, you’re going to learn quickly that it takes time! But don’t give up—you can do it! The key is to practice patience by correcting yourself quickly. When you feel yourself responding impatiently, try the following quick tips to reroute your thoughts, words and behaviors:
- Speak this out loud: “I am patient. I have the God kind of patience. I am extraordinarily patient.”
- Be quick to apologize if you respond to anyone in an impatient manner.
- Have a list of verses on hand about patience, love, kindness and perseverance to read throughout the day as a refresher.
- When you’re tempted to be frustrated, stop and think of an alternate response rooted in love.
- Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give you supernatural anointing to operate in patience—He wants you to have the fruit of His Spirit!
3. Practice Patience by Learning to Wait
It’s OK to wait. In this microwave society, it seems some people have forgotten that! Your time is no more important than anyone else’s, so learn to wait—wait in line, wait your turn in the parking lot, wait for someone who is moving slowly and do it patiently.
In the spirit realm, you must do the same. Once you’ve put seeds in the ground, it takes time for them to come up! The problem is, most believers don’t last that long. They start planting well enough, but then when they don’t see immediate results, when the bank account gets low and the rent is past due, they get discouraged and begin to speak words of lack and defeat. They tear up their crop with the words of their own mouths, and they never get to enjoy the fruit of it.
Determine not to let waiting frustrate or discourage you. Put patience to work. You’ll fuel your faith, increase your love, and you will receive your harvest.
When you practice patience in these three ways every day, it will begin to develop in your life. You’ll begin to see a change in the spirit realm. You’ll learn to be patient and wait for faith to bring the manifestation. You won’t be so easily moved by your circumstances because the love of God will be a driving force within you, you’ll know how to correct yourself quickly, and you’ll know that it’s OK to wait. Patience will bring you to the end of the promise. The longer you walk in faith and patience, the more victories you’ll enjoy!
Watch as Gloria Copeland talks about how patience completes the process of faith:
