We need to pray bold prayers. God hears bold prayers. God answers bold prayers. Maybe you remember some stories from the scriptures about boldness in prayer:
- A group of friends who dug through a roof to get their crippled friend to Jesus.
- A widow who went to a judge day after day and demanded justice (and who got justice).
- A woman who fought the crowd just to touch the hem of his garment.
- A barren woman who prayed for a son and promised him to temple service.
- A prophet who prayed for fire to fall from heaven after he soaked the altar.
- Disciples who cured the lame.
- A savior who cast out demons and raised the dead.
The Bible is filled with bold prayers. The history of the church is also filled with believers who prayed bold prayers:
- John Knox: “Give me Scotland or I die.”
- John Wesley crossing the Atlantic: “Almighty and everlasting God…command these winds and these waves that they obey thee, and take us speedily and safely to the haven whither we would go.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.: “Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace. Help us to walk together, pray to gather, sing together, and live together until that day when all God’s children–Black, White, Red, Brown, and Yellow–will rejoice in one common band of humanity and in the reign of our Lord and of our God, we pray.”
I’m not a Mark Batterson fan, but he hit the nail on the head when he wrote, “God honors bold prayers because bold prayers honor God.” When we pray bold prayers we acknowledge a God who has able and willing.
William Carey urged, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God. When we pray big audacious prayers, we concede that he is a Good Father with unlimited resources. There is literally nothing he cannot do or cannot afford.
Do not be afraid to pray specifically and desperately. Timid prayers are faithless prayers. Timid prayers reveal a lack of faith, not a humble spirit.
“God, please do something today, if it is in your will” is a safe prayer, but it is timid, faithless, and powerless.
Pray big prayers: “God, please put a person in my path today with whom I can share the gospel.” Get even more specific, “God, make Eric open to hearing the gospel today.” Ask. Seek. Knock. And, if you do not get an answer today, keep knocking. He is a God who rewards persistence. Carey said, “Prayer–secret, fervent, believing prayer–lies at the root of all personal godliness.”
Evan Roberts who led a Welsh revival that saw 100,000 come to Christ over a fiver year period prayed, “Lord bend us.” Bold prayers are unique. They are unique to the person praying. Dr. King was eloquent, Evan Roberts was a coal miner. Bold prayers are authentic and heart-felt.
God is less interested in your grammar and eloquence, than in your surrendered and trusting heart.
Get out of the boat. You can walk on water, but you will never do it with safe prayers. Pray boldly and watch God work mightily.
