“He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God… Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms have been remembered before God…” Acts 10:2, 30-31
“Here is a man who has lost all the labor of a whole life: not one day has he lived for himself, but to luxury, to debauchery, to covetousness, to sin, to the devil. Then, say, shall we not bewail this man? Shall we not try to snatch him from his perils? For it is, yes, it is possible, if we will, to mitigate his punishment, if we make continual prayers for him, if for him we give alms. However unworthy he may be, God will yield to our importunity.”
John Chrysostom (347-407) in Homily 21 on the Acts of the Apostles.
It’s a powerful idea to think that “God will yield to our importunity” but that’s precisely what we see happen related to people who persevere in almsgiving.
Cornelius gave alms generously and prayed constantly. And this text reveals that God not only saw this but responded to it. He got a divine visit.
We can neither control God nor dictate how He will respond to us. He is God and we are not. But we can get His attention. We can even inspire Him to action.
God will respond to our perseverance and importunity if we give alms generously and pray constantly. Do it now! Make this Lent a time you experience God afresh.
Pray in your house and give alms generously. It will get God’s attention, not because of your merit but because of His mercy. Not due to your goodness but because of His grace.
And if you know someone who is not walking with God, who has gone off the rails or off the proverbial reservation, then pray, fast, and give alms for them.
You buy their soul from death not because you pay the adequate price. No! You do it because you get the attention of the only God who can save them.