I have been thinking about BOB quite often recently. The Lord keeps bringing BOB to my mind the past few weeks when I am enjoying my morning prayer walks. I was introduced to BOB in February at the annual Rosedale Network Pastors Conference. I suppose I could blame my constant thinking about BOB on our keynote conference speaker, Greg Stier, founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries. He challenged all of the pastors, spouses, and ministry leaders who attended to pray for BOB every day. I have accepted the challenge—the Lord reminds me—so I pray for BOB.
The theme for February’s Pastors Conference was “The Power of the Gospel,” and a key Scripture passage was Romans 1:16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (ESV).
What would the written gospels be without accounts of Jesus taking every opportunity to boldly proclaim the good news of a different kind of kingdom?
How we embrace the truth of these verses impacts our dedication to praying for BOB. Who is this BOB we were challenged to pray for? BOB is an acronym for burden, opportunity, and boldness.
Pray for a Burden. Pray for lost people—people who have no relationship with God through Jesus—who are not living the abundant life. Pray for the kind of compassion and burden Jesus had as He lived life in the towns and villages, as recorded in Matthew 9:36: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (NIV). The compassion Jesus had was deep in His inner core, an intense burden—a burden born out of love for the lost. Lord, give us a burden, not disdain.
Pray for Opportunity. Pray for opportunities and divine appointments to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the perishing, believing that the gospel is the “power of God for salvation.” Jesus was the master of taking advantage of opportunities. He saw opportunities to converse with people in the temple and synagogues, at feasts and weddings, and where people made a living, like fishing. Jesus took advantage of opportunities “as He went along” on ordinary days, in the middle of storms, and when He stood before Pilate. Lord, open our eyes to the opportunities you give us each day to proclaim the gospel, as we go along.
Pray for Boldness. Pray that a deep burden for people not living the abundant life would outweigh a lack of courage and confidence to share the gospel. What would the written gospels be without accounts of Jesus taking every opportunity to boldly proclaim the good news of a different kind of kingdom? No calling of fishermen to follow Him, no woman at the well, and an entire town’s transformation, no feeding 5,000 people, no sinful woman being set free, no late-night conversations with Nicodemus, and no entering into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Father, give us boldness as you did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline (2 Tim. 1:7),
The Apostle John made it quite clear that this prayer for burden, opportunity, and boldness, and the response it calls forth, is not just for Jesus: “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6).
I have embraced the challenge to pray for BOB. Many of the approximately 350 people who attended Pastors Conference are also praying for BOB. That prayer is making a difference for Jesus’ kingdom and for lost people. I have been hearing stories of burden, opportunity, and boldness. I wonder, what would be the Kingdom impact, and how many people would move from death to life, if all of the 15,000 people scattered across the country who make up Rosedale Network of Churches would begin praying for BOB?
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