Prayer for Boldness

Acts 4:13

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Where does one acquire boldness? Boldness not in terms of the worldly ways but in terms of speaking the truth. What is truth, you might ask? Truth is the self-expression of God. Truth is thus theological; it is the reality God has created and defined, and over which He rules. In order for us to proclaim this truth, we need boldness in our spirit.  

This is what Peter and John had with them. Acts 4 verses 5 thru 7 says, “And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.” And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” Just imagine all of the top brass demanding answers from Peter and John.

What would we do in a situation like this? In today’s world many of us think carrying a Bible to a church seems like a waste and burdensome especially in this age of information technology. Many after leaving the Church do not want to associate themselves that they are living for Christ. Peter and John were able to boldly proclaim to that group that Jesus was the only authority under the heaven to give us the free gift of salvation. For Jesus Himself is our salvation. I bet Peter struck the nerve of this lofty group of individuals called the rulers.

Today’s church pews are filled with mostly Christian folks with less than 2% of people from a different religion. So, it is very easy to preach it to the choir. Not so with Peter. Every one of them he was preaching to was from a different background. At this point what would he need? The people he was dealing with had the power to incarcerate him for good. Just prior to this incident Peter and John were arrested overnight. (Cont’d)

May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ bless us all!

Maranatha!