Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. – Acts 4:29-31 (NIV)
Ever been in a conversation with someone and the perfect opportunity to talk about Jesus presents itself…but you just freeze and don’t say anything? Ever had that person in your life that’s been struggling for a long time, and you just know if they would surrender their life (and their situation) to Christ they would find everything they need and everything they’ve been looking for…but you drive home from their house discouraged and ashamed because you just couldn’t bring yourself to talk about it? Ever felt the Holy Spirit nudge you to share the Gospel, or ask a stranger if you could pray for them, or maybe even to share a specific message to someone…but you couldn’t find the courage to approach them, so you walked away defeated again?
I think every Christian has been there before. You get nervous and sweaty and start playing the “what if” game in your head. You know that game – “What if they think I’m crazy?” “What if they ask me a question I don’t know the answer to?” “What if they tell me no?” “What if they make fun of me?” “What if they get angry and lash out?” What if they tell me that they don’t want to be my friend anymore?” “What if I say the wrong thing?” “What if I get in trouble?”
Allow me to pose another “what if” question: what if the new thing God wants to do in you is to give you boldness?
In our Scripture today, the Gospel was spreading like wildfire and many people were coming to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. However, there were a lot more people who didn’t want to hear anything about Jesus, were offended by the name of Jesus, and wanted to harm or kill those who were spreading the Good News of Jesus. The early church was facing persecution, intimidation, being run out of town, beatings, prison, and even death for telling others about Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never faced the kind of persecution for my faith in Christ like they were experiencing. But I find it interesting that they didn’t pray for their circumstances to change. They didn’t pray for the persecution to stop. They didn’t pray that God would wipe out their opposition and make their lives a little utopia. They prayed that they would receive EVEN MORE boldness to proclaim the life-changing message of Jesus!
And God faithfully answered their request immediately. They said “Amen” and the place where they had been gathered together in prayer shook as the Holy Spirit of God came and filled each one of them. See, boldness doesn’t come because you’ve memorized enough Scripture. Boldness doesn’t come because you try really, really hard. Boldness doesn’t come because you magically become an extrovert. Boldness comes when you are filled with the Holy Spirit of God!
What if Holy Spirit-filled boldness is what will change the entire trajectory of your family for generations to come? What if Holy Spirit-filled boldness will make an eternal difference in the lives of your co-workers, neighbors, the teller at the bank, or the stranger in the coffee shop? What if Holy Spirit-filled boldness will transform you into the Kingdom-focused, mission-minded, hope-bringing, eternity-changing, devil-stomping, Gospel-sharing, unstoppable, powerhouse witness and ambassador for Jesus He created and called you to be?
During this 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, will you ask the Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit in order that you may be blessed with boldness for Him?
What if the revival we want to see in our lives, our community, and our church starts with a new boldness in you?