The early church didn’t pray for “divine appointments;” they prayed for boldness. God’s kingdom can only be established by faithful and courageous people. (Full text)

I, for one, want God’s Kingdom to advance on Earth and not only that: I want to be a part of it. But I also, very often, feel weak and unable to be strong.

I think it is probably human nature to be cowardly. It’s easy and it’s natural to avoid confrontation and be silent when something needs to be said. It’s hard to take risks, it’s hard to put yourself out there and be exposed to the possibility of rejection.

How then can we be “faithful, courageous people”? How can we be bold to speak the truth?

Paul, in his letter to Timothy, wrote these words, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.” (1 Timothy 1:7-8a, NLT)

In Acts 1:8, Jesus told his early followers, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere[...]”

The answer is that we become bold, courageous people not when we develop more will-power, but when we yield to and have greater faith in God’s Holy Spirit within us.

This process seems somewhat esoterical, but it really isn’t. In my experience, walking in the Holy Spirit by faith simply means we say, “God, you have given me boldness so I will live boldly. You have given me courage, so I will have courage.” Then, when we in faith take that first step of boldness or that first step of courage God comes through and empowers us to follow through.

2 Corinthians 12:9 is encouraging to me as I work through these things myself. God told Paul as he wrestled with his weakness that, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” As I am weak, it gives God opportunity to show His power in me. And that is a really beautiful thing.