Learning to Be Bold

I just finished a marvelous christian novel called: A Voice in the Wind. It was written by the author Francine Rivers who definitely has the gift of writing. The setting of this tale is in Rome during the persecution of Christians, just after Jesus' death and resurrection.
The story follows the journey of a Jewish slave girl named Hadassah who is a Christian. She serves a Roman family after she is taken from Jerusalem during its conquest and destruction. What really struck me is how Hadassah PRAYED for her masters. She goes  out into the gardens at night and pleads with God to redeem them. We see Hadassah heartbroken over the sins of her Mistress Julia and just pleading and asking for her and her family to come to know God. She prays without ceasing and knows that God is with her and will never leave her.
This made me realize that I need to be in constant and consistent prayer for my loved ones that don't know God and are far from him.
Another thing we see in the book is Hadassah staying true to God's teaching that we are not to be yoked to an unbeliever. She and Marcus, the son of the family she serves, fall in love and when Marcus asks her to marry him at the end of the book, she says no even though she wishes with all her being that she could be with him. When Marcus pressures her to give herself to him out of wedlock, she says no even though he pressures her on several different occasions. Hadassah's behavior is exemplary for us and she stands firm and isn't afraid to be bold in her faith even though it leads her to the Colosseum and the mouth of the lions.
In Romans 8:28 it says: "And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose" (NIV). We can truly see this working through the life of the main character in the novel.
At every chance she has, she shares Christ and his message with her masters. I realized that I need to be bold in sharing the Gospel more then I am now. We live a country when we have the freedom to share Christ and don't have to be afraid about being dragged off to the Colosseum to be fed to the lions. We need to take advantage of the freedom and boldly speak and proclaim Christ and his name. I think that people get worried about losing friends, what other people will think about them, and in some countries...even being put in jail or killed. We need to overcome the fears we have and do as Christ commanded.
2 Timothy 1:7 says: " For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (NIV).  
 I would say this book definitely had an impact on me and i learned some very important lessons that i can apply to my walk with Christ Jesus.