A Prayer for a Spirit of Boldness
By: Kristine Brown
“Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.” (2 Corinthians 3:12 NLT)
I’ve never thought of myself as a bold person. Honestly, sometimes I feel like the opposite of bold. In the past, I’ve held back from following God’s leading for fear of being thought of as pushy or overbearing. But maybe I’ve misunderstood what being bold really means.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he encouraged believers with this truth, “Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.” The word boldness can be defined as a willingness to take risks. A bold person has the courage to do the things she feels called by God to do. That’s the kind of boldness I want. The kind that shows with certainty, the sinless Savior of the world is at work in my life. The kind that draws others to God when I reach out in love to share His goodness with hurting people.
This new boldness Paul talks about doesn’t come from self-confidence. Paul explained earlier in his letter, “It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5) When we speak and act with bold faith based on God’s power instead of our own, we display grace, mercy, and freedom that is only possible with Jesus.
2 Corinthians 3:17 goes on to say, “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Let’s pray together and ask God for the kind of boldness we need to share His faithful love with a lost world. We can be very bold knowing the Spirit is leading us.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I believe there is freedom through your son Jesus Christ. He is my Savior, my Rock, and my Redeemer. I want to tell everyone I know about the renewed life found through a relationship with Him, but I feel like I lack the boldness to do what you’ve called me to do. Help me have boldness through the power of your Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul encouraged us with this truth, “Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.” (2 Corinthians 3:12 NLT) The “new way” Paul describes is faith through your Son, who died on the cross and was raised to life again. Because of Him, we can speak and act with courage and confidence, always showing compassion and unconditional love to everyone.
Thank you for making this incredible power available to us. Thank you that with the Holy Spirit leading us, we can live with boldness for you.
In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
For more spiritual growth resources, check out this free email study from Kristine Brown, Walking with Rahab: A 5-Day Challenge to Better Decision Making. You’ll find weekly encouragement to help you “become more than yourself through God’s Word” at her website, kristinebrown.net. Kristine is the author of the book, Cinched: Living with Unwavering Trust in an Unfailing God.
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