Today’s Verse
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
James 1:19 (NIV)
Slow to Anger
If you asked me how slow to anger I am on a good day and I’d give myself a 10 out of 10 score. But, ask me after an hour of parenting my three year old and the honest answer is: not very. There’s nothing quite like parenting a three year old to reveal exactly how slow, or not slow, to anger you actually are.
The tantrums, the negotiations, the complete irrationality delivered with absolute conviction. The repeated “why” questions. The refusal to eat dinner because there is the tiniest speck of broccoli on his plain pasta. The meltdown over the wrong colored cup. I adore my child more than life itself, but at the moment he is testing my patience…
But it’s not just parenting. It’s the driver who cuts me off. The comment that lands the wrong way. The situation that feels unfair. They all stack up through out the day. I’m not one to have outbursts of anger, but it certainly rises inside me faster than I expect, and if I don’t check myself, before long I’m stressed, short and more likely to say something that I regret.
James 1:19 says, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Quick to listen. Slow to speak. Slow to anger. Three things that don’t come naturally, especially in the heat of the moment. And the order matters, listening first, speaking second, anger last.
The honest truth is I can’t do this on my own. I’ve tried. I know what I should do in the moment, pause, breathe, choose my response. But knowing and doing are very different things. What I actually need is God’s help. His patience working through me when mine runs out. His Spirit giving me the self-control I don’t naturally have.
And the reason I can ask for that with confidence is because I know what God is like. He’s not standing at a distance, handing out advice on anger management. He’s experienced every provocation imaginable, including mine. And He remains slow to anger. Always.
Today, I’m asking God for what I don’t have, the pause, the patience, the grace to respond well even when everything in me wants to react. Because slow to anger isn’t something I achieve. It’s something He produces in me when I let Him.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, help me be slow to anger, pausing before I react, controlling my temper instead of letting it control me, responding with patience instead of exploding.
Anger comes so quickly, rising up before I’ve even thought about it, reacting faster than wisdom, speaking before I consider consequences, and I regret it every time.
Teach me to create space between what triggers me and how I respond, to breathe before I speak, to think before I act, to choose patience over instant reaction.
Being slow to anger doesn’t mean never feeling angry but refusing to let anger dictate my words and actions, controlling the response even when the emotion is strong.
Help me recognize my triggers, the things that set me off quickly, so I can be more aware, more prepared, more intentional about slowing down when anger rises.
Remind me that You are slow to anger, patient with me through countless provocations, and I’m called to reflect Your character in how I handle my own anger.
Give me self-control when I feel anger building, wisdom to know when to speak and when to stay silent, grace to respond gently even when I feel like exploding.
Let me be slow to anger today, pausing instead of reacting, choosing patience over temper, reflecting Your character in how I handle frustration and provocation.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.