“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. – Acts 4:29-31

We took our young son to Versailles. As we were leaving, we remarked that most of men selling souvenirs were probably Senegalese. That excited Brandon because he realized that the men most likely spoke Wolof. He asked us to give him courage because he wanted to walk up to the men and say the Wolof greetings he had learned years before while living in West Africa.

We explained to Brandon that only God could give us courage by His Spirit. All we have to do is ask. He stopped and prayed. A very determined little boy then walked up to a total stranger and said, “Asalaam Malekum.” The merchant responded with a confused look. Brandon continued, “Nanga def?” The poor man nearly fainted. The merchants then began to all gather around him asking who this little “toubab” (white boy) was that spoke Wolof. A great visit followed.

Upon leaving, Brandon was given a souvenir. This made him especially happy since he had spent all of his allowance and couldn’t purchase one himself. He looked up at us and taught me a lesson I will never forget. “All I did was ask God for courage and he gave it.” Looking down at his gift, he said, “And boy, was it worth it!”

It isn’t easy opening your mouth and letting words come out that aren’t natural for us. It especially isn’t easy to do it with a total stranger. But for their sake and for ours, what choice do we have? We all miss blessings if we don’t.

Question: What blessings have you and other missed because you didn’t ask God for courage?