“Long before we moved here,” Stan commented, “we were involved with a church that had a pastor who was a gifted evangelist. I never saw him pass up an opportunity to share the gospel. I once had lunch with him at a cafe and I think he presented the gospel to every single person. He began with the waitperson and ended with the cashier.”
“I often wish I could be that bold,” I responded, “but I’m not.”
“You ever pray about that?” Stan asked.
“Pray for boldness?” I said. “Not sure I ever thought about that. Do you?”
“I do,” Stan replied, “and I take my cue from the apostle Paul.”
“Why? Did Paul pray for boldness?”
“I’m going to have to guess that he did,” Stan responded, “because he asked others to pray for him that he would be bold.”
“That really strikes me as something I wouldn’t have expected,” I said. “The apostle Paul had a huge impact on spreading the gospel in the early days of the church, and he asked people to pray for him that he would be bold. Of all people, I would never have guessed!”
“Exactly,” Stan replied. “And if asking for help in being bold was good enough for Paul, it certainly is good enough for me!”
________________________________
Bible verses to consider:
Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:19-20.
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have been imprisoned; in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Colossians 4:2-4.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the truth of the gospel. Thank you for those who were bold enough to present it to me so I could by faith accept your free and gracious provision of life with you eternally when it’s time. I confess that too often I am not bold in telling others that they can have the same opportunity to have redemption and salvation. Please, Father, help me in being bold so I present the truth of the gospel to every person you intend by bringing them before me. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: If you have the assurance of spending eternity in God’s presence when it’s time, is it because someone was bold in presenting the truth of the gospel to you? If so, have you thanked that person? How are you doing in presenting the truth of the gospel to others so they have the same opportunity to accept by faith God’s free and gracious provision? Do you lack the boldness you would like? If so, have you prayed about that, asking God to grant you the boldness He wants you to have? Have you asked others to pray for you? If no, why? Do you believe God will provide boldness if you ask Him? Why or why not? Who is it that wants you to be shy about sharing your faith so that others may believe? Whose voice is the most important to you?
Waiting for the Train 
I have found that as I am consistently reading and studying God’s word daily, the more desirous I am in sharing the message of truth that sets us all free to others. There is opportunity daily to present Jesus. People are hungry to hear and experience the love, freedom, peace and joy that Jesus freely gives to His followers. Before I was consistently reading and studying Gods word, I was way more hesitant to share with others. It’s a joy to share Jesus with others…a friend of mine, Keith Wheeler, is an amazing guy who for many years has been carrying the cross around to every nation sharing Jesus. I’m inspired by his story and life. He’s a guy who was/is an Olympic caliber athlete, smart, sharp looking, with a great personality who heard and obeyed the call of Jesus to do something the world would call crazy. Jesus, I believe, continues to reward him for his faithfulness in this life and will say “well done, good and faithful servant, enter into your rest”, one day.
LikeLike