30 Days of Prayer: Week 3 - Bold Prayer

"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16

How would you describe your prayers? 

Are they weak, timid, and small prayers? Or are the strong, specific and bold prayers?

When we look at some of the ordinary people in the Bible, we see that while they struggled to follow Jesus as much as the rest of us, there were some who possessed a bold faith which led to bold prayer. This is most clearly seen in the life of the early church in the book of Acts. 

At this point, stop reading this post, pick up your Bible, and read Acts 4:1-31.

Ok, now that we're all on the same page after reading that passage, it is clear that these ordinary believers had a rock solid conviction that God was who He said He was and they were banking on it! 

A few things worth pointing out from that passage:
1. Peter and John were preaching the gospel boldly and thousands of people were getting saved. Ready for the kicker? They were ordinary, "uneducated and common men" (v.13)! This is good news for me and you because that means there is no reason God couldn't use us to see the same thing in our city. 

2. Peter and John went to jail for preaching the gospel and their "excuse" for getting into so much trouble is fantastic (v.20).

3. Once they're released from prison, they go back to the other disciples and have a prayer meeting where they praise God for their misfortunes and then they pray and ask God for MORE BOLDNESS (v.29-31)!

So, clearly these disciples possessed a bold faith that was evidenced in their daily lives and in their prayer life. The personal applications from a passage like this could easily fill a few pages but in terms of our prayer life: 

We should be the most confident people on earth.

Why?

1. Because our boldness rests completely on the character of God, not us. His promises are firm, steadfast, and forever. (Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:25)

2. God has sovereignly and strategically placed us on this earth for an eternal purpose and equipped us with His Spirit, His Word, and His people. (Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8, Ephesians 6:10-19)

3. God wins! If you've read the book of Revelation, you know that while we await the coming of our King, the story will have an end and we will be on the right side of history; we'll be on God's side. (Revelation 21)

All of these truths should lead us to pray bold prayers because we know the promises of God and we're learning to stand on them and pray for His Spirit to move powerfully in our lives.

PRAYER CHALLENGE THIS WEEK: PRAY BOLD PRAYERS! 

1. PERSONAL PRAYER
If you could see God anything in your life, according to His will, what would it be? 

- Make a list of these things; be specific! Search Scripture for God's promises and claim them as they are applicable to your situation. Pray boldly every day this week, standing on God's promises, and watch what God may do. 

2. PRAYER FOR OUR CITY & STATE
Only 2% of Utah is considered evangelical Christians. Translation: we live in an unreached people group! How often do you pray for the millions of lost souls in our state? How often do you notice that they live next door, or sit next to you at work, or at school? 

- Who has God sovereignly placed within your sphere of life that doesn't know or follow Jesus? Make a list and begin praying for their salvation!

- Pray that God would give you opportunities to be the answer to your own prayers, in sharing the gospel with your unbelieving friends and leading them to Christ!

3. PRAY FOR THE NATION
The Bible instructs us to pray for those in authority over us regardless of how small or how big that authority is. From the crossing guard to the President of the United States, Christians are called to pray for and submit to those in authority over them. (2 Chronicles 7:13-16, 1 Timothy 1:1-4)

- Take a minute every day this week and pray bold prayers regarding the state of our nation and it's leaders at every level. Pray for their salvation. Pray for them to govern our city, state, and nation with wisdom that comes from God. 

4. SHARE
Share on The City, in the House of Prayer group, what God has been teaching you this week. What are you learning about praying bold prayers? What effect is it having on your outlook on life?