Lord, Make Me Bold

Prayer requests are common to us, and are not uncommon in the Word of God as well. Paul wrote these words in his letter to the church at Ephesis:
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:19) 


Most of us, when we ask others to pray, ask for prayers concerning our job (or lack there of), our finances, our health, or that of family members... bottom line, things that pertain to ourselves... our wants and desires. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that, but I wonder, how many of us ask others to pray for us that we may become more effective at leading others to Christ? I've read this verse countless times over the years, but today, it just jumped off the page at me. What a fantastic prayer request! But let's be really honest... most of us go weeks, maybe months... or even years without ever sharing with a sinner how Jesus Christ has changed, shaped and impacted our lives. I've sat here in my living room reflecting on this, and while I have in fact shared my faith with others fairly regularly, I have to be straight up honest enough to admit that this happens far less frequently now than it did back in the early days after I first found my life in Christ. I can come up with a hundred reasons as to why, and point to my duties as an excuse for the change... but the absolute truth is, I simply am not as passionate about telling others about Jesus as I once was. Yeah, I may have learned a few things about "how to" share my faith, I must admit, the passion has not been the same.  I think that is why Paul's prayer leaped off the page at me today.


Some may want to criticize that admission, but I'm not going to let that distract my focus. In fact, this reminds me of a discussion I had with a friend of mine who is a pastor in Brooklyn, NY just this past week. We were discussing how once you acknowledge that there is a problem and can talk about it, then you are in a good position to then deal with that problem or issue. Ignoring it empowers that problem. I realized today that while I am wildly, passionately in love with Jesus, I have lost that passion for telling others how He can change their life. Time to re-ignite that passion.  


So how about you? Anyone else honest and bold enough to admit that they have not been passionate and bold enough in sharing about Christ? If you have not had the chance (or failed to take advantage of those chances) to share your story... to open up about your faith in Jesus Christ, I'm inviting you to pray this prayer along with me. Ask the Holy Spirit to open up that door of opportunity to you. I'm asking the Holy Spirit to not only open doors for me, to unfold before me what I like to term, "divine setups",  but also that he will help me to be more bold about sharing what the power of the Gospel has done in my life. I'm asking that those of you who read this pray for me, that I might become fearless in sharing the Good News.