In Acts 4, after being threatened with physical harm for preaching the gospel, Peter and John along with the other apostles prayed, “grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word” (Acts 4:29). Instead of praying for peace or safety, the apostles prayed for boldness.
Bold Christianity requires our faith. Our belief that Jesus is Lord and our trust in God’s promises are both necessary. According to Paul, we have our “boldness and confident access” to the Father in Jesus (Eph. 2:18; 3:11-12).
Bold Christianity requires our prayer. Like the apostles, we should pray to God that we will have the courage to speak the truth.
Bold Christianity results in our speech. If we believe in Christ, if we trust in God, if we pray for boldness in our speech as the apostles did, we will see the result. Paul wrote, “we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition” (I Thess. 2:2).
We should all strive to be bold Christians that display courage and eagerness to share the gospel with the world around us.
Matt Langfield