When we encounter persecution and trouble, we normally pray for deliverance, protection, and rescue but why did the first Christian community ask for boldness over anything else?
It’s rare for us to pray for boldness because:
- God is not really our Lord nor king, more like a genie
- We value comfort too much. Don’t want to step out of our comfort zone and be led to possible danger, discomfort, and risks.
- We’re still thinking about ourselves more. Me > God’s kingdom > God
But maybe it’s because we don’t really truly believe that God is sovereign over all.
Why did the first Christian community pray for boldness over anything else, in the midst of persecution?
Boldness: a willingness to take risks and act innovatively; confidence or courage
- People aren’t bold just because they want to be. There needs to be a reason behind their boldness.
- The first Christian community’s reason for their boldness was their conviction in the sovereignty of God.
- The early believers’ understanding and dependence on God led them to face opposition with boldness.
The Church’s Prayer
- Established God’s Sovereignty (Acts 4:24-28)
- God has control over nature and human affairs
- God is stronger than any opposition.
- Dependence on God in prayer.
- Two Petitions (Acts 4:29-30)
- Boldness to Speak
- Signs and Wonders
The Christian community prayed for boldness because of their strong conviction that God is sovereign, that Jesus indeed died and rose from the dead, and that God’s kingdom will rule over all.
The sovereignty of God and Boldness
- We cannot be bold with no backup (the Sovereign God has to be for us)
- God is proven to be sovereign since Jesus has risen from the dead. It is not a blind faith
It's our faith, our belief in who God is that determines what we do, and how we live life.
- The belief that God is sovereign leads us to submit to Him as King, and Lord and to follow and serve Him.
- We are no longer living for ourselves. When we don’t live for only ourselves we will have:
- Willingness to act with courage.
- Confidence in our identity as followers of the sovereign God.
- Boldness, even in the midst of persecution, and death.
- Philippians 1:27-29
When we truly believe and trust that God is sovereign:
- We will expect God to work, move, and speak to us.
- And it’ll make sense that we ask him for boldness to continue to spread the Truth. To transform lives and share the hope that we have as followers of Christ with everyone around us.
- Our lives will be impacted.
Three remarkable results of the first Christian community’s prayer:
- Shaken
- Filled with the HS
- Spoke word of God boldly
God answered their prayer.
Being followers of Christ, we are called to be bold. To be bold in proclaiming the name of Jesus to the world. But the number one, biggest obstacle that is in our way is ourselves.
It is our love for comfort. To not want to step out of our comfort zone.
So then, What little things can we do to step out of our comfort zone, and step out in boldness?
Pray to be faithful and bold, with a willingness to embrace:
- Changes and discomfort
- Unknown and uncertainty
- Suffering and persecution
Pray for one opportunity this week to share and talk about Jesus.
Let us all commit to taking one small step in boldness to share with people around us about Jesus. About how much God loves us, how he has a purpose for all of us to participate in, and how he is sovereign over the world.
Together, We can pray for boldness in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ because we know that God is sovereign. God is sovereign over All.
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