20 Powerful Bible Verses About Boldness when you Need Confidence

There are many Bible verses about boldness that we can use to help us grow in confidence. Praying for boldness is a powerful way to call out to God when you are in need of strength, power, and courage. Are you in need of confidence and desire to grow in your faith? 

Let’s take a look at a few Bible verses on boldness and pray with power today!

What does the Bible Say about Boldness?

One of the definitions for the word boldness in the New Testament comes from the Greek word parrēsia, which means “free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance” (source). The disciples Peter and John displayed this type of bold, courageous faith when they were confronted by the authorities about healing a lame man in Acts 3:6.

What would it feel like if we lived our lives with free and fearless confidence and assurance? How would we respond differently to adversity if we had a boldness within our souls that was unmoved and unwavered by life’s difficulties? This type of cheerful courage is readily available to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Whether you are praying for boldness for a specific situation, or desire to trust in God more each day, I pray that these Bible verses about boldness will give you courage, confidence, and strength to live with power and purpose! 

How Can We Develop More Boldness?

One way we can develop more boldness and confidence in our lives is by praying the Word of God. When we pray God’s Word over ourselves, our loved ones, and our situations, we are boldly proclaiming God’s power over our circumstances.

Let’s say you want to pray for more boldness and confidence during a specific time of need.

You can use a Scripture like Hebrews 4:15-16,

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 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.

You can personalize your prayer using this Bible verse on boldness as your guide by saying something like:

Lord, I thank you that you are the Great High Priest who intercedes on my behalf.

Because you came down to earth as the Word in flesh, you are able to empathize with my weaknesses. Help me to approach your throne of grace with boldness and confidence, and grant me mercy and grace to help me in my time of need. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Using Scripture to guide your prayers is a great way to grow in boldness and confidence!

20 Bible Verses About Boldness

Here is a list of 20 Scriptures on boldness that we can use to deepen our faith. Depending on the Bible translation you use, the word “boldness” may be interchanged with other synonyms like “confidence” and “assurance”, but these words also communicate the same powerful truth.

Bible Verses About Boldness from the Old Testament

Here are Scriptures on boldness from the Old Testament:

And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness.

Exodus 14:8 (NKJV)

They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians.

Numbers 33:3 (NKJV)

These passages in Exodus and Numbers explain how God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. As the Israelites left, they went out with boldness. The Hebrew word for boldness in these Scriptures literally means that they left with “lifted hands”. 

After the Israelites left Egypt with boldness, Pharaoh and his army pursued the Israelites in Exodus 14:10 and attempted to recapture them. The boldness that the Israelites previously had melted away when they saw Pharaoh and his army approaching them–but God powerfully defeated Pharaoh and the Egyptians in Exodus 14:28. 

No matter what difficulties we may face in our lives, this story reminds us that we can have boldness knowing that God is with us, and that he will deliver us from our enemies.

For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.

Psalm 71:5 (NIV)

What a comfort to know that God is our hope and confidence! The Hebrew word for confidence in this passage is miḇṭāḥ, which means trust, confidence, security, and refuge (source). When we seek to grow in boldness and confidence, we can trust in our God to be our source of security, hope, and refuge!

The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Proverbs 28:1 (NIV)

I love this passage because we as followers of Christ can be as bold as a lion. Throughout Scripture, a lion is an animal of great strength and power. One of the names of Jesus is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5). We can have this confidence and security because we have the power of the Lion of Judah living within us!

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”

Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV)

When we put our faith, hope, and confidence in God, we no longer need to live our lives according to our own strength. How freeing it is to put our faith and trust in the Lord!

Bible Verses About Boldness from the New Testament

Here are Scriptures on boldness from the New Testament that we can use to help us grow in faith and confidence.

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

1 John 4:17 (NKJV)

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 (NKJV)

Peter and John spoke with boldness and power as they proclaimed the truth of Christ to the authorities around them. They were questioned by the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law because Peter miraculously healed a lame man in Acts 3:6. He was able to do this through the power and strength of the Holy Spirit. Many people find it difficult to openly express their faith to others, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can boldly speak to those around us.

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

Acts 4:29 (NIV)

After the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law released Peter and John, they returned to their people and began to call out to the name of the Lord in prayer. They prayed for boldness, as they knew they would certainly face opposition for proclaiming the name of Jesus. After they prayed, their meeting place began to shake, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking boldly (Acts 4:31).

If the disciples were able to pray for boldness, we can certainly follow their example and pray for God to fill our hearts and minds with boldness and confidence. God can surely do amazing things in our lives when we call out to him in prayer!

He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

Acts 28:31 (NIV)

In this passage, the apostle Paul was in Rome under house arrest for preaching about Jesus. For two years he lived in a home in Rome and was under the constant surveillance of a Roman soldier (Acts 28:16). Although he was unable to go where he pleased, that did not stop him from speaking powerfully about Jesus. People came from different places to hear him teach and proclaim the Kingdom of God–and he spoke with power and boldness. 

If Paul could boldly share his faith in the midst of imprisonment, we can also live our lives with power and boldness wherever we are!

Bible Verses about Boldness from the Epistles of Paul

Here is a list of Scriptures on boldness written by Paul during his various missionary journeys. The letters that he wrote to the different churches he visited are known as epistles. Wherever he traveled and whatever opposition he faced, he boldly proclaimed the truth of Christ.

Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech…

2 Corinthians 3:12 (NKJV)

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

2 Corinthians 3:3-5 (NIV)

Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.

2 Corinthians 7:4 (NKJV)

…in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

Ephesians 3:12 (NKJV)

…according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.  

Philippians 1:20 (NKJV)

For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 3:13 (NKJV)

Bible Verses about Boldness from the Book of Hebrews

There are powerful truths about boldness that we can glean from the book of Hebrews. Take a look at these Bible verses about boldness below: 

But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

Hebrews 3:6 (NIV)

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.

Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

This is one of my favorite passages to use when I am in need of confidence and strength in my prayer life. We can boldly and confidently approach God’s throne of grace with power and confidence because we have access to God through Christ. God knows exactly what we need, and we can go to him for help at any time. What a mighty God we serve!

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:19-22 (NIV)

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

What did Jesus Say about Praying with Boldness?

Jesus had much to say about praying with boldness while he was on earth.

He taught the disciples to pray by instructing them to speak his Word of wisdom and grace from the Lord’s Prayer. He also spoke on how to pray boldly when he shared the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8.

Praying for Boldness Using the Prayers of Jesus

Here are five powerful prayers of Jesus that we can pray in our own lives as we learn to use Scripture to pray with boldness and power.

1. A Prayer for Lazarus

Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, 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 (NIV)

There are times when situations in our lives seem dead and hopeless. Allow this prayer of Jesus to remind you that he hears you and cares for you.

2. The Lord’s Prayer

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Matthew 9:9-13 (NIV)

This is one of the most well-known prayers of Jesus, and it is recited by many around the world. One of the most powerful and bold prayers we can pray is, “Lord, your will be done.” When we surrender our will and desires to God and allow him to direct our lives, he can use us in amazing ways for his glory!

3. Jesus’ Prayer at Gethsemane

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Matthew 26:39 (NIV)

Not only did Jesus teach the disciples to pray for God’s will to be done in the Lord’s Prayer, but he modeled this prayer to them when he uttered these words before dying on the cross– “not as I will, but as you will.” Because of this bold prayer, we now have joy, salvation, and true freedom in Christ!

4. Jesus’ Prayer at the Cross

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

Matthew 27:46 (NIV)

This may be one of the most difficult prayers Jesus had to pray. Jesus on the cross felt completely abandoned by the Father. What a mighty God we serve, who willingly experienced the wrath of God the Father so that we might be forgiven!

5. Jesus’ Prayer of Forgiveness at the Cross

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:34 (NIV)

While Jesus was on the cross, he also prayed a prayer of forgiveness for those who brutally crucified him. In the midst of his pain and agony, he selflessly uttered a bold prayer of forgiveness on their behalf. When we are filled with hurt and pain at the hand of others, we can boldly walk in the footsteps of Jesus in forgiveness.

We have the power of his Spirit living in us, and through him, we can do all things.

Free Printable Prayer on Boldness

You can also download a FREE printable prayer on boldness that you can print and use in your personal prayer time!

Just click on the link here to download the printable prayer!

In Conclusion

I hope that these prayers and Bible verses about boldness will inspire you to use these Scriptures to call out to God with power and confidence. Whether we need more boldness to share our faith, or to trust God to do the impossible in our lives, God’s Word will give us hope, security, and assurance that he is with us always.

Join the Bold Prayers of Jesus Prayer Challenge!

Sign up for the BOLD Prayers of Jesus Challenge to learn how to powerfully pray the prayers of Jesus! **JOIN HERE**

Sign up today for a new prayer challenge where we take a deeper look at these five bold prayers of Jesus and learn to pray the Word of God with boldness and confidence!

In this prayer challenge you will receive a 5-day prayer guide, and prayer journal, Scripture card, and Scripture reading plan, prayer prompt pages, and Bible journaling stickers!

Now more than ever, is a time to meet our Lord in a secret place and call out to him boldly in prayer.

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