Power, Boldness and Prayer

I would like to write about boldness today which is something that many people lack in their lives.  I am not talking about self-confidence, I am talking about God’s power in a person’s life.  Some people are very confident and they can speak in front of anyone, then there are others that are very shy or have very little self-confidence, still others with inferiority complexes who are very unsure of themselves lacking the boldness to speak up for themselves or others.  

There is a remedy for each one of these cases and it is the boldness that God gives to His children when they need it.  In Proverbs 28:1 it says this about boldness, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”  I think Paul was a very smart man and very confident, but his confidence didn’t lie in his own power, his confidence came from the Lord and, when he needed to be, he was very bold.

I think a lot of self-confidence can produce great pride in a person’s life.  In the Word Paul could have been self-confident when he preached to the Corinthians, he knew the scriptures well, but it wasn’t his self-confidence that he relied on, it was the confidence he had in the Lord that helped him to be bold and confident.  Read what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”  Paul spoke the Word in a simple way, not with intellectual words, allowing the Spirit’s power work in his life and in the people’s lives that were listening to him.  

The Bible says this in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.”  Paul knew without the Spirit of God working in his life he would accomplish very little in the spiritual realm.

Think about Peter, he denied the Lord three times depending on his own self-confidence, saying he never would.  Relying on self is a recipe for failure in God’s Kingdom.  But when Peter received the Holy Spirit, and was baptized in Him on the day of Pentecost, he received boldness and power to speak the Word.  This power and boldness was so evident in Peter and John’s life that the people said this about them after Peter preached and about 5,000 people believed in Acts 4:13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

Now notice something that happened after the disciples were told not to speak in the name of Jesus again, they prayed for more boldness.  Read what was said in Acts 4:23-31, “And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: ‘Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.’ For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.’

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”

You would think they had enough boldness without asking for more, but they knew they needed all the boldness they could get, they couldn’t rely on their own power and strength, only through the Holy Spirit’s power and boldness could they be successful.  What about you, do you need more power and boldness today in your Christian walk?  Then do what Peter, John and the other disciples did, pray and ask the Lord for it, to help you accomplish God’s work here on earth.  Something to think and act upon, may the Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a great day!!