By Gina Caswell Kelly
Do you pray everyday? You should! You should go to God every single day. I mean, think about it! We have access to the Creator of everything! This God of the universe that always was, and always will be waits to hear from you! That is unbelievable. And yet, this opportunity is available to all of us every single minute of every single day. And He is not waiting on us with a “What has she gotten herself into now?” attitude. He is eager to hear from us and to hear our requests. In fact, in Psalm 116:2, it says, “Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.” He is waiting to listen to your needs. He wants us to come to Him boldly with our needs.
What does it mean to pray boldly? To pray boldly, I think means to pray expecting big things. Now let me clarify. I don’t think He means for you to pray for a new car or that your debts will miraculously go away. But I do think He means to be bold in coming to Him for the needs of those around us. Be bold in praying for our children. Be bold in praying for our church.
What is referred to as the Prayer of Jabez is an example of bold praying. In 1 Chronicles 4:10, Jabez prays, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me.’ And God granted his request.” Jabez prayed boldly that God would enlarge his territory, but with larger boundaries, comes larger responsibility. In our world, I would say that if God enlarged my boundaries, then He would make me responsible for spreading His Word to more people. To whom much is given, much is required! If I am bold enough to ask for more, then I better be bold enough to believe that my responsibilities in God’s world will be greater. Jabez also asked boldly, that God would keep him from evil so he would not be grieved. I believe he is asking that God would give him the strength to resist evil, and by resisting evil, his heart will not be grieved by his own sins, making him more usable in God’s kingdom.
Get in the habit of praying daily. Praise Him for who He is. Thank Him for what He has done. Confess your sins to Him, asking for forgiveness, then place your needs before Him with boldness. It will make a difference!
