Everyday Prayers for GentlenessSample

The Strength to Be Gentle

We often think of gentleness as weakness, but the two are very different. Someone who is weak doesn’t need to be gentle; rather, it’s the strong who need to practice gentleness. True gentleness is much more than being kind, tender, or mild-mannered. It’s the radical cousin of kindness because while anyone can be kind, a person can only truly be gentle when they have strength. Gentleness occurs when someone with power holds back for the sake of the vulnerable.

If you’ve thought of gentleness as a weakness in the past, you’re in good company. Even the prophet Jonah thought of gentleness as weakness. After he preached to the people of Nineveh, they repented, and God decided not to cause the destruction He had planned. He held back His power for the sake of the vulnerable, and Jonah was livid. He literally wanted to die because he was so frustrated over God’s gentleness. Yes, this was the same God who had recently shown the same gentleness toward Jonah, but he now saw God’s gentleness as a weakness, not as a strength.

Like Jonah, our world doesn’t value gentleness. The world says we should seek power over others and grasp for control. It’s not interested in holding back power for the sake of others. As Christians, we’re often guilty of this too. We long to receive the grace of God’s gentleness without having to extend that same gentleness to others. We see gentleness as a weakness so we choose to ignore that part of God’s character.

But gentleness is a sign of strength, something to pray for and practice, not to avoid. Because it’s so countercultural, gentleness is one of the most obvious markers of a Christian who is growing in faith and godly character. In fact, God’s gentleness is the very crux of the gospel! Without Jesus’s choice to hold back His power for the sake of humanity, He would never have gone to the cross for us.

Prayer

Lord, I confess that I’ve not always considered gentleness to be a virtue. In this world of grasping, one-upping, and outrage, gentleness seems like a great way to get walked all over. Please give me a vision for Christlike gentleness and the desire to grow in it. Remove my fear of seeming weak and help me to trust that true gentleness is life-changing. In Jesus’s name, amen.