Shameless audacity: How to pray with no shame

I’m excited to share a lesson about prayer that might surprise you. It’s all about the boldness and persistence we should have when we talk to God. 

In the bible, shameless audacity is to pray with boldness in an unapologetic way. Why did Jesus teach us to pray shamelessly? Let’s study the scriptures to find out.

Learning to Pray

One day, Jesus was praying, and when he finished, one of his disciples asked him to teach them to pray just like John taught his disciples. (Luke 11:1-13)

Jesus then shared a simple way to pray that honors God: Ask for our daily needs, seek forgiveness, and ask for guidance away from temptation.

Here’s how he said to pray.

Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.

Luke 11:2-4

But Jesus didn’t stop there. He knew that to really understand how to pray, we needed more than just words; we needed the right heart.

The Parable of the Persistent Friend

Jesus told a story to explain this.

Imagine you go to a friend at midnight needing bread to offer a guest, but your friend doesn’t want to help because it’s late and he’s already in bed. But because you keep asking shamelessly, he finally gets up and helps you.

Jesus used this story to show us that it’s not about friendship but our boldness and persistence that lead to receiving help.

In Luke 11:8, Jesus said,

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.

Luke 11:8

What Does God Look For in Our Prayers?

You might think God wants us to be polite and reserved in our prayers, but Jesus taught the opposite. He wants us to be bold and persistent—so much so that it might even seem a bit rude!

But it’s this kind of “shameless audacity” in asking that God really responds to.

Knocking on Closed Doors

Jesus continues in Luke 11:9-10,

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 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

What does “knock” imply? It means there’s a barrier that needs to be overcome. Sometimes in life, we face closed doors—challenges or personal changes that seem too difficult for us. But Jesus encourages us to boldly knock on these doors with faith.

Think about it like this: if your life truly depended on you getting through a certain door, you’d knock as hard as you could, right?  And, you would not give up!  That’s the intensity and desperation we should have in our prayers to our God.

Be Bold, Knock Hard!

So, when you pray, don’t just wait for easy openings. Look for the closed doors, the big challenges, and knock on them with all your might. Christianity calls us to a life of boldness and faith.

Jesus assures us that God is like a parent who wants to give us what we need. Just as kids aren’t shy about asking their parents for bread, we shouldn’t hesitate to bring our requests to God.

Shameless audacity

I encourage you to live by faith, be bold, and knock away. Approach God with the confidence of a child who trusts their parent will provide. Let’s not just pray safe prayers; let’s pray powerful, audacious prayers. Remember, it’s not about having polished words but about having a persistent heart.

So, next time you pray, think about that friend at midnight. Be persistent, be shameless, and watch how God moves in response to your bold faith.

Let’s knock on those closed doors together and see what God opens for us!