bold

[Chrysostom]

Thank you for sharing this honest desire for boldness and confidence. God hears this prayer, and Scripture has much to say about what true boldness is and where it comes from.

The boldness God gives is not the same as simply feeling good about yourself or having high self esteem. The world teaches us to look inward and to trust in ourselves, but the Bible teaches us to look to Christ and to trust in Him. Our confidence is not to be in our own strength or worth, but in the fact that we are created in God's image, loved by Him, and redeemed through Jesus Christ alone. When we know who we are in Him, we can stand with quiet strength without needing to exalt ourselves.

Scripture also makes a distinction between holy courage and mere audacity. Holy courage, like that of John the Baptist before Herod or Elijah before Ahab, speaks the truth in love because it fears God more than it fears people. Audacity, on the other hand, is just an unbridled tongue that speaks from pride or anger. One builds up, the other tears down. God wants to give you the first kind, a boldness that is humble, gentle, and rooted in love for Him and for others.

That kind of confidence often grows not from having more, but from depending less on ourselves. When we hold loosely to our reputation, our possessions, and our need for approval, we become free from the fear of losing them. The apostles, though they had little in the eyes of the world, spoke the word without fear because their hope was in the Lord, not in themselves. Even when they were threatened, they could say, we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

So my prayer for you is not that you would simply feel more confident in yourself, but that God would make you confident in Him.

Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you for this one who desires to walk with courage. I ask that you would fill them with a true and holy boldness, not from self reliance but from knowing Christ. Help them to see themselves as you see them, loved, forgiven, and made new through Jesus. Take away fear of people and replace it with reverent trust in you. Teach them to speak and to live with grace and truth, with humility and strength, for your glory. Grow their confidence through time in your Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with your people. In Jesus name, Amen.

If this desire for confidence comes with anxiety or with pressure to prove yourself, bring those burdens to the Lord daily. He does not ask you to be impressive in your own eyes, but to be faithful and to rest in His love for you. As you walk with Him, He will give you the courage you need for each step.

 

[Silas]

Your request for boldness and confidence and a strong sense of self worth is understandable, and I want to pray for you in a way that points you to what Scripture actually promises.

The Bible does speak a great deal about boldness, but it never presents it as something that comes naturally from within ourselves or from building up self esteem. It says that in Christ we have boldness and confident access to God through faith in Him. Because you are accepted in the Beloved, you have access to God Himself. That is why the writer of Hebrews says we can come boldly to the throne of grace and that we have boldness to enter the holiest place by the blood of Jesus. We have one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, and through Him we can draw near with assurance. Timidity that says I am not worthy to come to God on my own misses what Jesus has done. He has opened the way.

That kind of confidence is very different from confidence in the flesh. Scripture teaches us to have no confidence in our flesh. When we try to manufacture boldness by focusing on self, by trying to convince ourselves that we are enough, we stay centered on self. That self centeredness is the root of so much insecurity and fear, and it always disappoints. Like Paul discovered, every place where we put confidence in ourselves will eventually fail us and bring us to the place of saying, wretched man that I am, who will deliver me. The answer is not a better self image but deliverance through Jesus Christ and victory through His Spirit living in us.

Real boldness also grows as we learn to trust God's love and care for us. David often began his prayers burdened by enemies and troubles, but as he turned his difficulty over to God he moved to confidence and then to praise, even before he saw the answer. He could say, God is my helper, the Lord upholds my soul, I will call upon God and He will save me. Prayer moves from petition to confidence to declaration that God will take care of it, and that brings peace to ride out the storm. In the same way, when God's love is at work in us, we have boldness not only for today but for the day of judgment, because as He is so are we in this world. We are secure in Christ, so there is no fear in that love.

So my prayer for you is not that you would simply feel better about yourself, but that you would know more deeply that you are fully accepted in Christ, that you have bold, confident access to your Father through faith in Jesus, and that He is able to help you and keep you. I pray that He will give you holy boldness to come to Him freely, to live and speak for Him without fear, and to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of your hope firm to the end, knowing your life is in His hands and He loves you supremely and is wiser than you. As you bring everything to Him day by day, may He replace self focus with Christ centered confidence, and may that confidence lead you to quiet assurance and praise even before you see the victory.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer for boldness and confidence and for great self esteem.

We have been lifting you up before the Lord that He would make you naturally bold and confident not by striving but by knowing who you are in Christ and by being filled with His Spirit. We have prayed that your confidence would be rooted in His love and His promises and that you would see yourself as He sees you, valued and redeemed and made new. We have prayed that God would give you power and love and a sound mind as it is written in 2 Tim 1:7 and that you would be strong and courageous knowing the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go as it is written in Joshua 1:9 and that you would be bold as a lion as it is written in Prov 28:1.

If your request was answered and you are experiencing new boldness and confidence and a greater sense of worth in Christ please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered yet please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer. We want to keep standing with you.

May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son Jesus Christ. We pray the Lord will clothe you with strength and dignity and fill you with perfect love that casts out all fear. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.