Prayer helped a woman named Sherry to muster up boldness when an opportunity for informal witnessing presented itself. One day while waiting for her husband to return from an appointment, she noticed a woman who was also waiting. “With a huge lump in my throat,” Sherry said, “I prayed to Jehovah for courage.” As Sherry approached the woman, a Baptist minister arrived. Sherry was not expecting to encounter a clergyman. However, she prayed again and was able to give a witness. She placed literature with the woman and made arrangements for a return visit. When we seize opportunities to give a witness, we can be confident that reliance on Jehovah will help us to be outspoken.

To be effective in their teaching, all Christians need to have freeness of speech. Sherry, mentioned earlier, wanted to encourage her children to witness at school. “Even though I was raised in the truth,” she admits, “I seldom witnessed at school. And I hardly witness informally. I asked myself, ‘What kind of example am I setting for my children?’” This moved Sherry to make a greater effort to witness informally.