Hi friends, I trust your summer was all that you had hoped it would be, and even more. As I think about how quickly fall is approaching, along with a new season of ministry and life, I have been more and more impressed to make prayer a greater priority in what I do. 

I have always believed prayer is important, and I have earnestly tried to make it a regular part of my walk with God. It just seems that what I need to happen in my life, and what we need to happen in our church is so beyond what I or we are able to do in our own strength. The Lord truly is our only hope. And if God is going to get more involved, I and we need to get more involved in prayer.

I am reminded of this passage from the Gospel of Luke. I have read it a number of times before but something new jumped off the page this time. Luke 11:5-10 …

“Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything. 'I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

The part that jumped off the page at me is verse 8. Jesus told his disciples that boldness was a key factor in receiving what they asked for. And this teaching about boldness in prayer is not isolated. In Hebrews 4:16 the Bible says this (New King James Version) … “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” And in Luke 18 we read about the widow who received justice from the judge because she persistently and boldly kept pleading with him.

I think what struck me about this passage in Luke is that there seems to be a sense that God is looking for people who know what they want, and need from Him, and are not afraid to ask. This seems to resound in what Jesus says in verse 9 … “So I say to you; ask … seek … knock”. In other words, we need to stop beating around the bush with God, and stop being so timid about what we want or need God to do for us or in us or through us, and just come right out and ask Him. And we need to ask Him like we mean it.

Friends, God loves us! He wants to do incredible things in and through our lives, but He won’t force Himself upon us. He wants to provide us with what we need but He’s waiting for us to ask. So He patiently waits for us to gather up enough courage to ask Him to do what we want and need Him to do in our lives.

Some of us want and need a new job. Some of us want and need better health. Some of us want and need a more effective ministry. Some of us want and need clearer direction for our future. Some of us want and need a raise, a better marriage, to visit friends who live far away, to be able to give more to God’s work, to get out of debt, to meet that special someone, to have children, or a hundred other things that the Lord has put on our hearts.

Jesus remedy is simple … “ask, seek and knock … For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

I encourage you, as I encourage myself, to be more bold in our prayers. Not that we demand something from the Lord … We are not entitled to anything, and the Lord owes us nothing ... but that we humbly yet boldly approach His throne of grace for whatever it is we need.

Becoming More Bold,
Pastor Bert