Pray For Holy Boldness

Pray for Holy Boldness.

   “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
Acts 4:31 (NKJV)

    “In praying for boldness the apostles give an intimation of the manner in which they expected it to be imparted to them. It was not by some direct and internal spiritual impact, but by external manifestations of His continued presence and favor: “by stretching out His hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be wrought through the name of Jesus.”  31. The prayer for boldness was answered at once, and in the way they had requested. (31) “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness.” The shaking of the house, attended by a conscious renewal of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit, gave them the boldness for which they prayed, because it assured them that God was still with them.” —Acts of the Apostles - McGarvey

    1. Fear (worldly fear) is not a Christian attitude.  It is the attitude of a soul behind bars.  Judas was an example of worldly sorrow.  He killed himself.  He regretted his action but did not repent.  Matt. 27:3-10.

    “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” 2 Cor 7:10 (NKJV)

    “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."  Rev 21:8 (NKJV)

    2. Holy fear brings us to God.

    Peter had godly sorrow and repented and came back to God.

    “And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."  Luke 22:31-32 (NKJV)

    “Jesus sees Simon Peter’s denial as a violent attack by Satan, which Peter endures through Jesus’ intercessory prayer.  After his tearful repentance and the experience of the Resurrection, Peter indeed returned to Christ and was able to strengthen the early church as one of its leaders.”  Wallerstedt

    “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.  For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”  2 Cor 7:10-11 (NKJV)

    3. Are You Fully Alive?  Irenaeus, a bishop and early Church Father, wrote, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” I love this quote. In one sentence he describes what it means to be holy. To be holy means being fully alive; to be holy means being fully the persons God created us to be.”

    “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:10-11 (NKJV)

    “Do we need to perform man-made rituals and works in order to gain a hearing before the Redeemer?  No!  We come through God’s work, Holy Baptism, to be joined to Christ.  For Jesus Christ triumphs over the conditions of fallen existence – sin, death, the flesh, the Law, and evil spirits – by His death & resurrection.  In the OT rite of circumcision only a small piece of flesh is removed; in  the circumcision of Christ, our baptism, we die to the flesh and live to God.”  Wallerstedt

    “It is the supreme discovery of life that we need not punish ourselves in a hopeless effort to earn God’s forgiveness.  It is freely offered to all. We must gladly accept His gift of love on the terms offered.  A grateful heart will make the best effort to please Him.  No longer do we as criminals seek by our own strength to escape our chains, rather as faithful children we do our best to please our loving Father.”  J.H.Waddey

    “Speaking about the 23 Coptic Christian martyrs beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya in February, he emphasized that these martyrs gave testimony to God’s accompaniment even in times of trial.  They were certain that God did not abandon them.”  P.F.