From the Daily Dose Journal Series

Pray for boldness

Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word. Acts 4:29

A few years ago, I found myself in a tough season where I was struggling with constant fatigue and significant pain in my body. At the time, I was working with someone who had recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and her main symptoms were widespread pain and exhaustion. Naturally, my mind went straight to worst-case scenarios. Is this what I’m dealing with too? I didn’t voice those fears, but they were loud in my thoughts.

Thankfully, I understood enough about the enemy’s tactics to not give those thoughts power by speaking them out loud. Instead, I brought it to God in prayer every day. I kept asking Him to take the pain away, to help me feel better so I could get up and go about my daily life without such a struggle.

Then one morning, as I got out of my car and walked toward the door at work, I asked again in frustration, “Lord, what is wrong with me?” Immediately, I sensed the Holy Spirit respond, “You’re asking the wrong question.”

I had never considered there was a right question, So, I asked, “What should I be asking?” And just like that, it all made sense: I was focusing all my prayers and attention on removing the pain rather than asking God to give me His grace to walk through it. I realized that God had brought me through every trial in the past and this time would be no different. The question wasn’t why it was happening or even what it was, but rather, Thank You, Lord for taking me through to victory.

Today’s passage in Acts 4 offers a powerful example of this shift in perspective. After Peter and John were released from questioning and threats by the religious leaders, the early church didn’t gather to pray for protection, safety, or even relief. Instead, they prayed for boldness.

They didn’t ask God to stop the persecution or silence their accusers. They asked Him to make them even bolder. To speak the truth more fearlessly and to move in the power of the Holy Spirit even more powerfully. Why? Because they knew the message of Jesus was the only hope for the world, and they refused to let anything stop them from sharing it.

And God answered their prayer, mightily.
“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

Are you going through something right now, something painful, discouraging, or confusing? Don’t let it stop you in your tracks and don’t turn around and go back where you started from.  Instead press in and keep moving toward your destination. Here’s how you can begin shifting your perspective and walk in greater boldness today:

1. Change your prayer.
   Instead of asking, “God, take this away,” try asking, “Lord, walk me through it. Show me Your strength in this.” Ask for boldness instead of comfort.
2. Invite the Holy Spirit daily.
   Before you start your day, invite Him to give you wisdom, courage, and the right words to say. He is your Helper, and He is eager to partner with you.
3. Tune into His voice.
   Pay attention to those little nudges like the people you feel prompted to encourage, the moments when you feel peace stepping into a conversation about your faith. That’s Him.
4. Stop disqualifying yourself.
   You don’t need to feel ready or perfect. You just need to be available and move forward. Ask for boldness to take the next step in what God has called you to do.
5. Expect God to move.
   Just like the room where the disciples prayed was shaken, your world can be too. When you pray for boldness and step out in faith, expect God to show up.

Today, I want to encourage you to stop asking only for the pain to go away and start asking for boldness to keep moving forward in the middle of it. Don’t let the enemy distract you with discomfort or doubt. The battle may not go away overnight, but the Holy Spirit will strengthen you to walk through it with power, courage, and purpose.

The disciples didn’t pray for ease, they prayed for effectiveness. And as a result, they turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).

So, what about you? Will you pray for boldness? Will you shift your focus from comfort to calling? God has a plan to get you through every trial and every struggle. He designed you to make an eternal impact along the way.

Let your prayer today be:
“Lord, grant me boldness to speak Your Word, to live out my faith, and to stand firm in Your truth, no matter what I face.”

And when you do, just like the early church, others will see that you’ve been with Jesus, and your life will transform the world around you.

Today’s scripture reading: Acts 4:23-31

23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things?

26 The kings of the earth took their stand,

And the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.’

27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together

28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,

30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

31 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.