Boldness, the Forgotten Prayer Request

One of my favorite messages from TLC was a sermon on boldness, given by David Whiting. A few things really stuck out to me as being very essential in the boldness that we should exhibit as we live our lives.   He started with a criticism of the prayer of American Christians.  A lot of times, we pray for safety and health, which is kind of ironic considering the fact that America is one of the safest countries with some of the best medical advancements.  Imagine the kind of message that we are sending to nonbelievers when we pray for these things.  It would seem that the worst thing that could happen would be to die and go to heaven.  We need to start prioritizing our prayer.
In Ephesians 6, Paul is writing from prison.  Even though he was put there for proclaiming the name of Jesus, look at what he prays for: boldness.  He was imprisoned for being bold, but instead of praying for safety or that he would be released, he prays for even more boldness.
Being bold means deciding to say something when it would be easier to say nothing. Speaking up when your science teacher talks about the earth being millions of years old or when your friend mocks Christians.  Being bold means taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves to us on a day to day basis.  Not only that, but being bold means creating opportunities instead of sitting on our hands, waiting for something to happen.
Being bold also means staying calm.  It means not getting frustrated, or angry, or rude when presenting the Gospel.  It means giving God the ability to change people's hearts instead of trying to change them ourselves.  It means living so that we look like a walking example of Christ's love.
Imagine the impact that we could make if we started risking a grade, a job, or friend for Jesus' name.  Imagine the generation of Christ followers we would bring up if we started to speak out, but stay calm, and to practically live it out.  What if we started to create opportunities for ourselves, while we also took every opportunity that God gave to us.  What if we stopped thinking about the worst that could happen to us, and instead, remember what will happen to the lost people of this world if we are not bold; if we do not share the love that God has given us.  Imagine the impact that we could make if we started “praying for boldness instead of seeking acceptance".  Imagine that impact right now, and started living BOLD so that He could use us to set the world on fire.

My Other Struggle

As we were driving to the BBC campus for Teen Leadership Conference a few Monday's ago, I was praying a lot.  I prayed that for a week, God would let me lay aside everything in my life that would distract me and to show me what He wants me to see.  I didn't really expect to be shown a big area of my life that needed improvement, but it's funny how God works where you least expect Him too.
I certainly didn't think that I had any other major problems other than my doubt (see last blog post), but I guess that is a perfect example of my other struggle, pride. (Isn't it ironic that I was too prideful to didn't realize that pride was an issue?)
I first realized my struggle with pride when I walked into the first session on Monday night and I saw all of these other teens that were Christians.  I guess that for so long, I have lived in an area where I don't know very many Christians outside of church.  I have been used to being the only Christian among my friends at school.  I have embraced the "good girl" status and while I might not literally, metaphorically, I hold my head high.  I have developed the mindset that I am better than other people.  (Now that doesn't mean that I don't witness to people, I still do)
Anyway, this trip was a very humbling trip for me because it helped me to realize that I'm not the only "good Christian" in the world, that there are lots of teens who are on fire for God.
Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with the humble there is wisdom.
I challenge you guys to open your hearts and ask God to show you where you might need work.  It may be obvious, my doubt, or not so obvious, like my pride.  Pray that He can help you to realize your "improvement area" and help you through it so that you can set the world on fire.