This article is part of a series, Pray like Jesus, on ways Jesus teaches us how to pray to our heavenly Father. Keep an eye out for related articles.
During His life on earth, Jesus prayed with bold confidence and an expectant heart. He taught His disciples to also pray with boldness and with the confidence that God would hear and answer their prayers.
Jesus called Lazarus with boldness
When Jesus called dead Lazarus from the tomb, He knew God had heard His prayer and would answer it. “Father,” Jesus prayed, “I thank You that you have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me” (John 11:41–42).
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Then, Scripture states, “Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” (v. 43).
“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face” (v. 44).
Jesus spoke boldly to a corpse, and He was not surprised when Lazarus obeyed. Jesus had total confidence in the power of His Father.
“Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein and mercy will come down,” writes John Wesley in his “The Letters of John Wesley, 1774.”
Jesus taught bold prayer
Jesus gave His disciples a template for bold prayer. “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins. … And lead us not into temptation’” (Luke 11:2–4).
This prayer is bold in its requests for provision, forgiveness and divine protection. Jesus knew God was listening and would act.
Jesus encouraged persistent and expectant prayer
Not only did Jesus teach others to pray boldly and confidently but also persistently and expectantly. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find. … For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9–10).
Jesus later told a parable about a poor widow and a cruel judge in Luke 18:1–8. The widow relentlessly petitioned the judge for justice. Though he initially refused, he eventually gave in: “Yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!” (v. 5). Through this story, Jesus taught that persistent prayer moves God’s heart.
Jesus concluded, “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? … I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly” (vv. 7–8).
Prayer and spiritual power
When the disciples failed to exorcise a demon from a small boy in Mark 9:14–29, Jesus intervened, commanding the evil spirit to leave the child. “‘You deaf and mute spirit,’ He said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again’” (v. 25). The demon obeyed immediately.
Later, the perplexed disciples asked Jesus, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” (v. 28). Jesus replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (v. 29).
In the “Power Through Prayer,” E. M. Bounds writes “our praying … needs to be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistence which will not be denied and a courage which never fails.”
Scriptures that urge bold prayer
Scriptures urging bold, expectant and persistent prayer are prominent in the New Testament.
— “Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).
— “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matt. 21:22).
— “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
— “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of Him” (1 John 5:14–15).
— “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt” (James 1:6).
Suggestions for prayer
When you pray personally:
— Pray with faith, believing that you have received your prayer request: Mark 11:24.
— Approach God’s throne with confidence: Hebrews 4:16.
— Ask according to God’s will: 1 John 5:14–15.
— Be assured that God will answer your call: Jeremiah 33:3.
When the Church prays:
— Preach about the power of prayer, teaching members to pray with boldness, expectation, confidence and persistence.
— Pray bold prayers aloud, setting a powerful prayer example that comes directly from Scripture.
— Remind the congregation that God hears and answers bold prayers.
“If God loves us so much, do we not believe that He will surely hear our prayers?” Dietrich Bonhoeffer is believed to have said. “Therefore, pray boldly in spite of all obstacles. You have been given a seat in the court of heaven.”
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