Sometimes I pray for patience and the result is not always good. I say the result is not always good, but maybe that's not really fair. It just seems that often when I pray for patience a lot of things show up to make me very inpatient. But then how's God going to answer my prayers unless he gives me an opportunity to practice patience?

For example, last week I returned from vacation nice and relaxed, knowing there would be a lot of work on my desk. So, while I didn't exactly say a formal prayer for patience, I do recall telling myself before tackling this pile of work that I would deal with one thing at a time, calmly, and not become overwhelmed. But I think God interpreted this thought as a prayer, and he answered it. Because, right in the middle of processing all of this paperwork and preparing some tax forms, a really bad virus showed up to infect my computer.

Fortunately, I remembered my resolution to be patient. Rather than reverting to my old behavior of getting angry and having a strong desire to throw the computer down stairs, I instead switched to another computer and started looking for solutions to resolve my virus problem. So, instead of becoming stymied by this issue, I was able to continue processing the paperwork on my desk while at the same time dealing with the virus. I was pleased to be able to maintain some equanimity during this six hour virus killing process. Once I resolved the virus problem it felt good to give myself an atta boy because I hadn't let this thing get me upset or frustrated.

Still, I left the virus ordeal reminding myself to be careful what I pray for because God normally answers my prayers. Invariably, when I pray for patience, situations or people will shortly show up in my life to test my resolve

The survival value of patience in my recovery cannot be overestimated. If I practice patience in my daily life then I'll be able to invoke the serenity prayer, or else call my sponsor, when issues show up in my life. Patience and overreacting are mutually exclusive.