Praying bold prayers
Today’s reading: Acts 2
Sometimes the world can knock us down or deliver blows to life that are unexpected and difficult to face. There are real, hard, life-altering situations that are part of each of our lives. Thankfully, we don’t have to live defeated. God promised to never leave nor forsake us, and he sent his own Spirit to advocate for and comfort us in all circumstances (Hebrews 13:5).
Acts 2 documents the powerful display of the Holy Spirit and what he is able to do for believers in Jesus, no matter what they are facing. After Jesus died he was resurrected and ascended to heaven with the Father, and then he sent the Holy Spirit to the early church. After hiding from severe persecution, Jesus’ followers experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit for the first time. Just as they previously were baptized with water to symbolize the forgiveness of their sin, they had now been immersed in the presence of the Holy Spirit that equipped them with power far greater than their own human strength. The account of this miracle in Acts 2 shows us how the disciples were able to pray with confidence for healing, salvation, boldness, and freedom. Thousands were added to their number. But do you want to know the best news? We have that same Spirit living in us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior!
Just like the disciples of the early church, we have been gifted the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 6:10,11), which gives us hope as we pray bold prayers over each and every circumstance of our life. God’s Word continually reminds us that he invites us into an intimate relationship with him through prayer:
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)
“So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
“The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.” (Psalm 6:9)
Each of these promises, as well as many more found throughout the Bible, remind us of the importance of praying bold prayers. Because of these promises, we can approach him with confidence that he hears and will answer our prayers. That is why we keep asking big, seemingly impossible requests as a church.
At Cross Creek, we have 10 “prayer pillars” that we intentionally pray over as a body of believers every week:
- Salvation
- Divine healing
- Spiritual warfare
- Public Schools
- Government
- Revival
- Families and Relationships
- Leadership
- Community
- Deliverance
This list is a reminder that God has the ability to intervene in all areas of our lives. We can open our minds to the possibilities of what can happen when we begin to pray beyond our day to day circumstances. Praying with boldness means we believe God has the power to do the impossible. Just think about what it would look like if we all began to pray boldly for these pillars! What would our community look like? How would families be transformed? What could happen in our public schools?
ACTION STEP: Choose one of the prayer pillars and begin praying BOLDLY today!
Use the PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) acronym to spend time in prayer.
What area of your life could benefit the most from consistent and bold prayers?
*If you have questions about any of these pillars or want to learn more about praying specifically over them, ask your leader to get you connected with someone on our prayer team.
