The Power of Confidence

by Conrad De Meester, Jerome T. Coe

Confidence is a central theme in the Word of God and is one of the most important operating principles in the kingdom of God. Without it you will not achieve much in His vineyard and make little progress. What money is to the world, confidence is to the kingdom of God. Biblical confidence is a great compliment to God and He is very pleased with it.
The confidence that I am writing about is not self-confidence or the confidence in your own worth or ability. There is a thin line between self-confidence and arrogance. God hates arrogance.
Confidence in God and His Word is what this book is about. An attitude of utter dependence on God is very pleasing to Him. This kind of confidence is a wonderful and necessary quality to have, especially when it comes to prayer. God just loves it when His children are confident in Him.
Confidence is the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something. The word, “confidence” comes from a Latin word “fidere” which means to trust. It speaks of faith and that is the reason why our heavenly Father wants us to have an abundance of confidence when we approach him in prayer. God is always very pleased with us when we have confidence in him.
As our heavenly Father, God is delighted in it when we come to Him confidently. He enjoys being trusted by His children. He wants our full confidence. We don’t pray so that God can find out what we need or to inform God of matters that He would otherwise be ignorant of, because Jesus says in Matthew 6:8 “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” Our heavenly Father is not only omnipotent and omnipresent, He is also omniscient – He knows everything. He wants us to pray because prayer expresses our confidence or trust in Him, and it is a means whereby our confidence or trust in Him can increase.
The confidence that God desires so much never lies in ourselves, our merit, our ability, our manmade acts of righteousness.
Not one of the reasons provided in this book on why we can be confident in God have to do with my or your own doing. Since I discovered these reasons, it radically transformed my prayer experience. It made me bold in my prayers and gave me a liberty and joy in prayer that I never had before. It is all reasons given in the Holy Scriptures. When we put our faith in it we will become as bold as a lion and as confident as an eagle (Proverbs 28:1) in the presence of God.

377 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 1998

About the author

Father Conrad De Meester, OCD, a Carmelite priest from Louvain, Belgium, is the author of numerous works on the spiritual masters of Carmel: Thérèse of Lisieux, Laurent of the Resurrection, and Elizabeth of the Trinity. In particular, it was he who compiled the critical edition of the Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity for Les Editions du Cerf. He has two titles to his name published in English: With Empty Hands: The Message of Thérèse of Lisieux (St Paul Publications Australia, 1982) and St. Thérèse of Lisieux: Her Life, Times and Teachings (ICS Publications, Washington, DC, 1997). The Power of Confidence is a revised and updated edition of the masterpiece which won him his well-deserved reputation when it was first published as a doctoral dissertation twenty-seven years ago.

Reviews

[Fr. Bryce Sibley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and documented, albeit a bit tedious and dense. I’d suggest reading the abbreviated version “With Open Hands” instead.