Prayer Evangelism: Pray for Boldness

Over the past two weeks, I have briefly examined different aspects of prayer in evangelism. Together, we have seen the need to pray for the lost and for gospel workers, but today’s emphasis may make you uncomfortable (I pray it does!).

Not only must we pray that people will be converted and that workers will be raised up, but we should also pray that the Holy Spirit would embolden us to share the good news.

I’ve been involved in evangelistic work for over twenty-one years. In that time, I’ve spoken to thousands of people in a variety of gospel settings, from one-to-one witnessing to preaching at large evangelistic events, but let me tell you a secret… I am terrified every time I share the good news! I have had people come up to me asking, “How can I not be afraid in evangelism?” to which I reply, “When you find out, please let me know!”

Fear in evangelism isn’t uncommon; the Apostle Paul mentioned trembling in 1 Corinthians 2:3. When you go to share the good news with the lost, you may feel your heart rate increase, your palms get sweaty, and a lump form in your throat (tell me I’m not alone!). So, how do we overcome this fear?

The solution is prayer! I know in Christian circles that answer sounds cliché – “Do you have a problem? Pray about it!” But in this case, it is true! From the Scriptures, I want you to see that prayer is the right response to fear when it comes to evangelism.

In Acts 4:29-31, we read:

“Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

To help understand the passage, we need to be aware of the context. In Acts 4, Peter and John have been confronted by the Jewish religious leaders because they were preaching Jesus as the Messiah. Those in authority were not happy with this message, so they took it upon themselves to threaten the Apostles. These threats weren’t idle. Only a few months earlier, Jesus had been crucified by the authorities. This was a real and dangerous situation for Peter and John. Threats were made; they were being told not to spread the gospel – how do they respond? By praying.

Often we can look at the Apostles as being ‘super-Christians,’ but they were fallen men just like us. They were afraid, just as we get afraid. Yet, even though they feared, they began to pray. They sought the Lord and asked for boldness. God hears this prayer, and He answers in a manner that shakes the place. The Apostles were then empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak “the word of God with boldness.”

Praying for boldness didn’t mean the fear disappeared; rather, praying for boldness helped them push through the fear. Boldness in evangelism doesn’t mean you’ll never feel afraid again, but what it does mean is that the Holy Spirit will help you to suppress that fear so you can be obedient to God’s command to love your neighbour by spreading the good news of Jesus.

In our own strength, we can’t evangelise, so we must rely upon the emboldening power of the Holy Spirit. We must seek the Lord through prayer if we are going to be effective in reaching the lost. The Apostles had to pray for boldness, and so do we! We cannot evangelise in our own power.

The Apostle Paul knew his limitations, which is why in Ephesians 6:18-20 he says:

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Paul needed boldness to speak – so do we! Paul is regularly held up as an example we should follow, yet as we look at him, we see he was frail, he was afraid, and he needed boldness to proclaim the gospel.

If you are fearful in evangelism, then you are in good company. The solution to overcoming fear is not to pray, “Lord, remove my fear,” but rather to pray, “Lord, give me boldness and courage to speak of Jesus even though I’m afraid.”

It is easy to pray for the lost to be saved and for workers to be raised up, but it is more challenging to pray that the Lord would make us bold so we can witness. When we engage in prayer evangelism, we need to pray that we’d be used to evangelise the lost. It isn’t a case of “Lord, raise up workers, but I’m not available.” It must be, “Lord, raise up workers to reach the lost, and please give me the boldness to speak about you.”

I know you are afraid (I am too!), but we must seek the Lord for the empowering of the Holy Spirit so we can have the boldness to make much of Jesus. Right now, pray the Lord would enable you to proclaim Christ. May He answer that prayer, and embolden you to share the good news.

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