I often hear people asking God to give them boldness. I think if those people knew what boldness actually was, they would stop asking for it. Boldness is nothing other than being entirely sure about something. It is confidence gained by knowing that something is true and refusing to back off from that truth. If I ask you, “What is your name?” You can immediately, without any hesitation or having to think twice, answer me and tell me your name. Why? Because you know for a fact, what your name is. Now after you tell me your name, I can say you are lying because your name is actually Fred. Will you believe me and go, “Oh, sorry, you’re right. Don’t know what I was thinking!” NO! You would correct me immediately. If I persist in telling you that you are a lair and that your name is Fred, you will eventually get angry and fed up to the point where you would either punch me or show me your driver’s license.

When somebody mispronounces your name, or misspells it, the first thing you usually do is stop right there and correct them. Why? Because otherwise, it is not you. The mispronounced or misspelled name is not you, because it does not represent who you are. Boldness in terms of speaking and doing God’s word is nothing more than that. When you know for a fact that what you are speaking is truth, you won’t have a problem speaking it. And when you hear something contrary to that truth, you will speak up and correct it. But before you speak up and correct, you need to know the truth. In terms of who you are, there is no better picture than the one reflected in Scripture. It tells you exactly who you are and what you can do. But you won’t be or do if you are not convinced. That is why people pray for boldness. They want God to convince them that His Word is true. Once they know for a fact it is true, they would have boldness to stand on it with everything they have.

The first step to get boldness is in making a conscious decision that either you believe the Word of God, or you don’t. If you chose to believe the Word of God, it becomes the basis of truth in your life. You have to look at everything through this truth. You have to look at your experience through truth, and not use your experience to look at what is truth and what is not. When the Word of God tells me, “By His stripes we were healed” then that is truth. When I am sick, then my sickness is not in line with truth even though it is a fact. It is not mind over matter either. It is more like gravity and flight. Gravity doesn’t cease to exist when a plane takes off, but one reality has been superseded by a higher truth. When you actually believe the Word of God, then the faith you place in it supersedes the world you live in.
The Word of God supersedes sin, sickness, disease, poverty, lack, brokenness, sorrow, inability, guilt, shame, condemnation and more by grace through faith. Once you believe it, you will start superseding whatever mountain is in your way. When your experience seemingly contradicts truth, all you need to do is to find out what the Word of God says about that situation, and believe it to be true. Once you know what God said about you or your situation, you will automatically have boldness. The only time you don’t have boldness towards something is when there is a choice involved and you don’t know which choice is true concerning you.

2 Cor 5:5-7 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are ALWAYS CONFIDENT, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT. (NKJV)

You will always have confidence and boldness as long as you live by faith. If you stop living by faith or stop believing the Word of God, then your experiences will once again precede the higher truth. Then your plane will land and gravity will keep you on the ground again. You can ask for as much boldness as you like, but the only thing that will cause you to have boldness is faith in Christ. Lacking boldness is just a symptom of lacking faith. Boldness cannot be given to compensate a lack of faith. You will be bold to the degree that you have faith in Jesus and His Word, and the free gift of righteousness, which is the Gospel. So next time you want to ask for boldness, rather just decide what truth is and stick with it!

Grace and Peace to you all!

Cornel Marais

Click here to read a preview of Cornel’s new book, “So You Think Your Mind Is Renewed?” If you’re tired of religion, legalism and the traditions of man, this book will be a great starting block for you to starting living the life you were destined to live in Christ!