Being Bold

Boldness in times of growth.

I read a devotional today about how we often answer our own prayers. The example given was for food. I may pray for my daily bread, but will also be happy to run down to the local grocery store and pick out the items to make the meal I have planned. In someone else’s life, the daily bread may be a true miracle, because the pantry is empty and there is no funding or grocery store available. I give thanks for being able to afford and access foods and to meet other needs. But, this was a great reminder to pray boldly in all seasons.

I will praise You with my whole heart; 

Before the gods I will sing praises to You.

I will worship toward Your holy temple,

And praise Your name

For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;

For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

In the day when I cried out, You answered me,

And made me bold with strength in my soul.

Palms 138: 1-3

A bold prayer is one I cannot answer on my own. It requires me to maintain my focus on Christ, or I will feel my feet become weak and knees wobbly beneath me. My mind asks, “What if this really can’t happen? What if that doesn’t happen?” I start trying out the “what-if” game, telling myself that if the outcomes need to be adjusted or corrected, this will allow me to be in a position to; even as this is a cry out to God and I have no answer on my own.

Boldness in times of storm.

These bold prayers go to the heart of my confidence in Christ and demand that I keep my eyes fixed upon Him, as this is something I cannot answer myself. Taking my eyes from my own abilities to focus on the one who created me in the first place is actually quite liberating. I can remove the what-ifs, and replace them with the conviction-of an assured belief that God is in charge of this situation and can be trusted.

Boldness in moments of autumn peace.

In particular, the final bit in this first part of Psalm 138 strikes me as a beautiful act of confidence. It is always a comfort when stepping out on faith that it doesn’t require a processing time before God can see, hear, and respond. And respond He does! Not only are prayers known, but answered. This can take many forms, but specifically includes being made bold with strength when the soul cries out. For me, when I am in such a place as to need that element of faith, it is generally something looming on the horizon. I may even know the answer in my heart, and need that boldness to carry it through.

Let me continue to pray boldly, asking for that which I cannot do on my own. For I know my God can do so much more than me.   

Boldness in cold and dark moments, waiting on the sun.

The Eternal Assurance Agent

   Working my way through books, H.G. Wells wrote in the War of the Worlds, that “God is no insurance agent.” I thought that that was an interesting statement, but wanted to add my own though at the end of the characters. God is an assurance agent!

   Insurance is (according to the English Encarta Dictionary) “an arrangement in which a company provides customers financial protection against loss or harm in return for a sum of money in premium payments.” So, if God is an insurance agent, then I have to buy an agreement and pay for it. And, I better make sure that that agreement covers everything under the sun, because insurance only covers what is in the agreement.
   Assurance is a pledge of promise of certainty. Again, going to the dictionary, an assurance is “confidence and freedom from uncertainty; a declaration intended to inspire confidence.” In Job, a companion said, “Be assured that my words are not false; one who has perfect knowledge is with you.” The certainty God offers is not based on what is covered in our plan, but in His plan. He is the maker of eternal assurance.
  
Job 36:4