Pray Bold Blog Series

by Matt Bullen January 6, 2017

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Shameless Audacity

Luke 11:5-8 (NIV) Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Donʼt bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I canʼt get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your SHAMELESS AUDACITY he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.”(Emphasis Mine)

This passage never ceases to shock me every time I read it. God is telling us to approach Him with shameless audacity. Really? Wow! That stuns me. And it completely stokes my passion to pray. The Greek word here is anaideia. Other translations are “unembarassed boldness” or “shameless persistence.” Jesus is taking the gloves off here. He’s saying to you and to me, “Come at Me, what you got? Be brazen, ask Me for anything and don’t stop asking Me until you receive it.” Wow!

Some things in this story, that Jesus seemingly makes up off the top of His head, that I love are, 1. The man has a great need that drives him out into the night, 2. The need is to feed others, 3. He refuses to go home empty handed and so he gets “as much as you need.”

Many times I believe we don’t Pray Bold because we haven’t allowed ourselves to become involved in the mission of God in the world to the point where we have a great need that drives us out into the night. As I type this my heart is in my throat thinking of all the things I need for the people I am ministering to here and around the world and I’m thinking about how I will march around our apartment complex tonight with my hands raised toward heaven shamelessly begging God to give me what they need.

When is the last time you went before God about a great need and wouldn’t go home empty handed? How about tonight. Start with walking the block and just tell the Lord your needs that come to mind and then go back home. Try it. I dare you!

For two years my daughter Rebekah, who was living in an orphanage out in the bush in Zambia, Africa, pleaded with me to come to Africa and spread our ministry there. Though I had been working in South America for a few years already, I had never even crossed the Atlantic before. Going to Africa felt like going to the moon for me. Because of chronic health challenges I didn’t even know if I would survive the 24hr journey to get there. But Rebekah prayed and pleaded with shameless audacity. One night in late December 2014 while she was home for Christmas we were sitting on our balcony and she braced me one more time about Africa. I quickly figured out a budget and announced to her that it would take $10,000 we didn’t have and didn’t know where to get. She grabbed my hand and said, “Let’s pray daddy. God can give us $10,000 easy. Reluctantly I bowed my head and prayed, “Lord, if you send us $10,000 from somewhere we are not expecting and give me strength, we will go to Africa.” Rebekah happily looked up, “There! It’s done. We are going to Africa daddy.” We didn’t tell a soul about our prayer. Three days later a man who had never before sent us money wired $10,000 into my bank account. I was stunned and a little scared. We immediately booked the trip and went in early January 2015 and God poured out a waterfall of grace on our heads the whole trip. Not only that, He also healed me. Not only that, He also laid the foundation on that trip for our current ministry in 5 African nations, two Mercy’s House schools/orphanages, 5 churches planted, hundreds of precious souls added to the kingdom, multiple other trips, and we are just getting started. PRAY BOLD, BELIEVE BIG, and CHARGE HARD.

[quote] “Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers. God isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less. If your prayers aren’t impossible to you, they are insulting to God.” – Mark Batterson, Pastor, National Community Church, Washington, D.C.[/quote]

[quote] “God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the impossible.” – William Booth, Founder, The Salvation Army[/quote]