Acts 4:24-30 contains one of the most inspiring prayers in Scripture. The believers were living in dangerous circumstances. Peter and John had just been arrested after the healing of a crippled man.

When they prayed for boldness they knew what they were praying for. The mission the Lord had given them had not changed, and neither had the source of their power. The prayer recorded in this passage is marvelous in its simplicity and its comprehension of the Person and purposes of God.

Compare that to a person, maybe the one who knows about God but chooses each and every day to ignore Him.

He has seen you do the things he hates. He has seen you go after pagan gods on the hills and in the fields, like a man lusting after his neighbor’s wife or like a stallion after a mare. People of Jerusalem, you are doomed! When will you ever be pure? – Jeremiah 13:27  GNT

One thing is noted in both these cases – without God is is impossible to believe in the impossible. Can I be made pure? Though difficult, it is not impossible. When could I say that something is impossible? When my obstinate refusal of God’s grace renders it impossible. I cannot change myself, I need to come before God and pray for Him to do it and I do that through Jesus Christ. If I can pray and believe what I am praying, God’s power is available to me. If I do not, I will not survive.

Think about Jesus’ own words.

At about three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me? – Matthew 27:46  GNT

That was a difficult moment. I know that as a teenager I asked the question – where was God? I know now that He was in the same place He was yesterday, today and forever. My immediate response is – God show up now and deliver me now. In my spirit I know He will show up in His time. I have learned that when God is quiet, He is up to something. I am inspired to pray, which is an expression of my trust in God, and then wait for an answer. The answer will not be what I think it will be so I best be on the lookout and careful not to miss it.

Other inspiring prayers include Hezekiah who was so sick he was going to die. God called it out and told him so. He did not freak out and start to swear and curse God, he did not complain, pout, beg or go into a depression, and he did not feel that God was picking on him. What he did do was turn to God in prayer, remind Him that he had been serving Him since he was a young. He turned his face towards the wall and started praying.

As a result he was given another 15 years of life. Such was the strength of his prayer in the face of adversity and such was the importance of having a relationship with God where He can be trusted and who would come when needed.

When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. – Martin Luther