Nurture love, joy, peace and patience with these 9 fruit of the spirit prayers

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 ESV)

Just for something different, I am going to spend the next 9 days praying that my grandchildren will be directed by the Holy Spirit. Specifically, that they would have the fruit of the spirit growing and maturing in their lives. There are 9 good gifts (fruit) that we can receive through the Spirit as mentioned in Galatians 5. I want my grandkids to have them all.

Do you want to join me?

I have made prayer cards to help us. One for each gift. You can download all the cards right here.

These fruit of the spirit prayers are going to require some boldness on our part as grandparents and great-grandparents.  In asking for our grandchildren to seek patience, goodness and faithfulness, we are opposing today’s culture in a lot of ways. From pre-school to high school our kids get the message that approval is found in achieving, looking good, being the best. There are no awards for being the Greatest of All Time in gentleness, for example.

It’s the old, old story of the world’s way vs. God’s way.

And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave.

But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

1 John 2:17 NLT

This fruit is not something we manufacture on our own. It comes from the way we change when the Holy Spirit begins living inside of us. It is the hand of God as He shapes us that leads to our lives bearing fruit.

Is baptism necessary?

Normally, we would expect our grandchildren to be baptized first and then receive the Holy Spirit. But in Acts 10: 44-46, Cornelius and his household received the Holy Spirit first, and then were baptized. Either way, baptism is important.

But it’s our faith in Jesus and His promise of salvation that lets the Spirit in.

So let’s pray first of all that our grandkids come to understand who Jesus is and then choose the path that follows Him.

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to Earth and showing us what God is like. Thank You for your Word which also helps us know how to live. Please, please call my grandchildren into Your kingdom. I pray each one of them will know you and love you starting today. Fill them with Your Holy Spirit and produce in them fruit of that Spirit. Thank You, Father. Amen.

There are prayer cards for each gift of the spirit. You can download all the cards right here.

Prayer for the fruit of the spirit: Love

Holy Spirit, fill my grandchild’s heart with Your love. I pray that they love God with all their heart. Let them love themselves, too, and who You made them to be. Teach them how to show Your love to those around them. Give them opportunities to be Your message of love to a hurting world. Finally, remind them that You love them today, and so do I. Amen.

Prayer for Joy

Father God, I pray my grandchild will feel so joyful today that it bubbles out all around them.  Let them appreciate the blessings You give them. Please do something special today to remind them that they are Your chosen children.  May they be happy walking with You no matter if times are good or bad, and may they truly say, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Amen.

Prayer for Peace

Lord, please fill my grandchild’s heart and mind with peace. Let them live peacefully with their family and especially their brothers and sisters. Show them how they can bring Your peace to their school, their friends, and everywhere they go. Teach them how to pray Your will into situations and cast their cares onto You. Amen.

Prayer for the fruit of patience.

Lord, teach my grandchildren how to be patient. Their world is so fast paced with instant information and constant entertainment on their screens. Help them to put the noise of the world aside and focus on You. Develop their patience with their friends, siblings, even themselves. Show them how to trust Your timing. Let them mature into young adults who move according to Your Will in Your way. Amen.

Prayer for grandkid’s to be kind.

Please let my grandkids delight in being kind. Enable them to be kind the way Jesus was kind. Kind to everyone without regard to status or ability to repay. Kind in a way that points to You. Consistently kind because their heart is filled with Your love. Give them kindness with Your strength behind it. And I pray they will be aware of Your kindness to them. Amen.

Fruit of the Spirit: goodness

Lord, only through You can I begin to hope that my grandchildren will be good. Work in their hearts, Father, so that they are naturally attracted to good things and good people and are repelled by the bad. Let them work for positive change in their schools, the neighborhoods and their jobs. Let them be a light in the darkness by reflecting Your goodness. Amen.

Fruit of the Spirit: faithfulness

Jesus, Your Word says without faith, it is impossible for us to please You so please develop this quality in my grandkids. Cause them to be loyal, reliable and trustworthy to their family and friends, but most of all to You. I pray they will be like the faithful servant mentioned in Luke 12: watching and getting ready for Your return. May You find them faithful in good times and in difficulty. Thank You Jesus, Amen.

These prayer cards would be a great additional to your Prayer Journal. You can download all the cards right here.

Prayer for gentleness

God, the Bible says to treat others the way we want to be treated, and I pray my grandchildren would realize this means they must be gentle. Gentle with their words, respectful of their friends, kind to their siblings and pets. Teach them to control their strength, like a strong wind calming to a pleasant breeze. I pray they would find their example for humility and gentleness in Jesus, Himself. Amen.

Fruit of the spirit: self-control

Spirit, please teach (grandchild’s name) how to show love through self-control. Teach him/her how to rely on Your power to master his/her sinful nature. It’s the only thing that can! I pray my grandchildren will desire self-control to overcome their negative impulses and stay out of trouble. Help them to realize that choosing self-control means they don’t have to be controlled by something else. Thank You Lord that we can rely on Your power instead of our own. Amen.

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If you want to teach your grandchildren about the fruit of the spirit, here is a good post that can help you with that. It also has coloring pages that are free and a fruit of the spirit BINGO game that is $5.

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There is a great reward in praying for our grandkids to be led by the Spirit of God. For it is in getting to know God and His amazing ways that they will find their purpose here on Earth and their destiny in Heaven.

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