Prayerful literacy

I don't know how the prayer started, but it was a long one. My mind had begun to drift, kneeling in the eighth row with my friend, Shelly. This was the morning to go to a new church and have a different worship experience.
The woman in the bright caftan and large African head wrap prayed on and on in thick, ecclesiastical tones, clearly moved by her own prayer. She was praying for patients in the hospital and a number of other issues that went on for some minutes.
I was aware of the hard floor under my knees, and of the smoothness of the wood pew ahead of me, upon which I leaned.
"And Lord, may we have the patience, that's I-E-N-C-E, because that's what we need."
Hearing the woman spelling something brought me back from my internal distractions. I raised an eyebrow and shot a questioning look at Shelly. Her expression was one of confusion.
"If we are with patients, I-E-N-T-S, we need thy patience, E-N-C-E."
Again, my mind had wandered and I rapidly came to only to hear this woman spelling something. Did the woman believe that the Lord wasn't sure which homonym she was using?
It was one of the funniest prayers I've ever heard, even though the supplicant was intent on communing with God. I've laughed about her literary precision many T-I-M-E-S.