Prautes

During my Day Alone With God yesterday I looked up the word "gentle"(a la Matthew 11:29, Galatians 5:23) in Greek because that is an area I am sorely lacking in.

It turns out PRAUTES means:

Meekness, expressed not in a man's outward behaviour only nor in his relations to his fellow man or his mere natural disposition, but expressed rather as an inwrought grace of the soul, first and chiefly directed towards God.

I was really surprised by the fact that's it's not our mere natural disposition which was what I was inclined to think.

It goes on to say...

That attitude of spirit in which we accept God's dealings with us as good and do not dispute or resist.

Wow. Now there's a tall order. I can't think of one instance where I've completely accepted the Lord's dealings with me without ANY dispute or resistance. There's always some whining on my part.

After some reference to Greek philosophers it finishes off with...

Prautes is not readily expressed in English since the term meekness suggests weakness, but prautes is a condition of mind and heart which demonstrates gentleness not in weakness but in power.

It is a virtue born in strength of character.