Confidence is Key

Acts 20 v 7 -12 tells us about Paul preaching late into the night and how he raised the young man, Eutychus from the dead after he fell from the third storey of the building they were in.  Paul then says, “ Don’t be alarmed, he’s alive”; goes back up to the room; breaks bread & continues preaching!  His whole attitude is one of calm confidence, he’s almost nonchalant about it.  I don’t know about you, but I think I would be shouting from the rooftop – “LOOK WHAT GOD HAS DONE, EUTYCHUS WAS DEAD & NOW HE’S ALIVE!!”

Paul had no doubt that the young man would live, he didn’t need a long, convoluted repetitive prayer, he just had confidence that God would do it. (However, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray longer prayers than this when the need arises)

A dictionary definition of confidence is: full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing.  Synonyms for confidence are reliance and dependence.  So, Paul here is showing us the perfect definition of confidence in God – he fully trusted, had belief in the powers and reliability of God and depended on Him.  He didn’t think twice about his actions because he had faith that God would answer his prayer.  Can we say the same in our lives?

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”  Hebrews 11 v 1 NIVUK

“Blessed (with spiritual security) is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord.” Jeremiah 17 v 7 AMP.

Our faith is built on confidence in, reliance on and dependence on God.  We should expect our prayers to be heard and answered because we fully trust Him and believe in His powers, not our own.

The world encourages us to be self-confidant, self-reliant and have belief in ourselves, some of which aren’t entirely bad things, as long as we’re not self-centred and selfish and have our foundation in God. 

It’s God who gives us the abilities, talents and resources to underpin our confidence and belief in what we can do.  Our full trust in Him gives us the assurance and confidence that our prayers are answered, that we can see and perform miracles, that we are successful and prosper in every area of our lives.  Let’s give God the glory when we do! Let the world around us see our confidence is in Him!