Do you want to live more boldly in your faith? Do you want to see the power and miracles that can only come from spiritual boldness? Most of us do!
But boldness doesn’t just come naturally when you are born again or even filled with the Holy Spirit. Like faith, it is developed through revelation of who you are in Christ and the promises in His Word. Just like the early Christians, we must pray for boldness (Acts 4:29-31).
One thing you cannot tolerate if you want to operate in biblical boldness is fear. Spiritual timidity or fear is caused by a lack of understanding—of the promises of God and of who you are in Christ. Plus, fear is the opposite of faith. If you’ve been living in spiritual timidity, you’ve been letting the devil do your thinking. But his day is done. It’s your time now.
Pray for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit; pray for boldness. You don’t have to feel bold to act on your faith. You start by stepping out and deciding to be bold. When you are led by the Spirit, He will provide a measure of boldness to sustain you in that moment.
If you’ve been fearful, indifferent or timid—take heart. You can stir up the boldness within you, and live and walk in the spirit in your everyday life. Start by praying for boldness, renewing your mind in the Word of God, and considering this checklist for living a spiritually bold life.
At Home
- You are bold when you approach God in prayer, you are bold enough to speak in tongues, and you are bold enough to claim the promises of God without doubting, begging or pleading.
- You take authority over any sickness that tries to come into your home or on the physical bodies of any family member, immediately and with confidence. You set the tone for faith and spiritual authority.
- You take authority over any and all wrong spirits in your home. You drive the devil out with dogged determination, and you don’t wait for extreme situations to do so. He has no chance in your home with your spiritual tenacity!
- You monitor the types of movies, television shows, books, magazines and video games that are viewed in your home, and you don’t hesitate to turn off anything that is not pleasing to the Lord.
- You don’t succumb to pressure from other family members to compromise your beliefs. Even against ridicule and criticism, you stand firm in your faith and in obeying the Word of God in its entirety.
- You don’t permit strife, bad language or ungodly behavior in your home, and you are careful not to allow visitors into your home who refuse to honor the atmosphere you’ve set there.
- You don’t receive bad reports about your home, family, health or finances. Instead, you are quick to respond with the Word of God in faith.
At Work
- When someone asks you if you’re a Christian, you unapologetically say, “Yes!”
- When watercooler talk turns to politics, you don’t pretend to believe anything but what the Word of God says. You’re loving and respectful, but you don’t hesitate to say, “I believe God’s plan for marriage and family is what is true and right.”
- You aren’t afraid or embarrassed to pray over your lunch. You refuse to deny Jesus in public (Matthew 10:33), and you’re unashamed to thank the One who provided your food for you.
- You aren’t afraid to let employers know that you don’t work on Sunday, as you reserve that day for church attendance and honoring the Lord by resting.
At School
- You look for opportunities, as revealed by the Holy Spirit, to share your faith with others and lead them to the Lord.
- You aren’t afraid to speak up firmly, but respectfully, in the classroom to share the truth when a teacher or professor speaks against creationism or the standards in the Bible.
- You refuse to be bullied into accepting or submitting to the beliefs of others that do not align with the Word of God.
- At the leading of the Holy Spirit, you are willing to offer to pray for those who need encouragement or comfort.
- You utilize your parental rights to speak up when your child’s school curriculum is outside what is biblically acceptable.
- You defend your right or your child’s right to: have a Bible in school, pray at school (or any school function), and operate in his or her religious freedoms.
At Church
- When faced with someone at church who speaks against the Word of God, or is speaking negative confessions, you are kind and wise in your response, but you are quick to speak the Word of God and speak a positive confession and a good report over the situation.
- You don’t participate in gossip or any type of negative speech or behavior, even if it means walking away from a conversation.
- You are led by the Holy Spirit and speak a word from the Lord in season, even if it seems awkward or embarrassing.
- You follow the instructions of the Holy Spirit when He leads you to minister to others, even if it is uncomfortable or doesn’t seem to make sense to your natural mind.
- You take authority and intercede for those in the church who are struggling and come boldly to the throne of grace on their behalf, even right there in the moment with them.
When you take this checklist for living a spiritually bold life and put it into practice, you will begin to master the spiritual boldness that puts your faith in action and keeps all things under your feet. You are a spiritual giant! You may not feel like it now, but keep on fighting the good fight of faith, keep feeding on the Word of God, keep acting on your faith. Be bold in the Name of the Lord! Nothing can stop a believer who is willing to be bold for the Lord.
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