As I was laying in bed this morning, a thought came to mind about a heart God honors. The one that came to mind was the story of Cornelius in Acts 10, a gentile Roman soldier whose heart was bent on pleasing a God he never knew. It must have been truly amazing when he saw a vision from God with an angel delivering him this message, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”
Muslim Converts to Christianity have glorious and amazing testimonies about Jesus appearing to them in dreams, being miraculously healed of life-threatening conditions, and even surviving from being poisoned by their own family members. Only God ultimately knows how to reach a person and with these truly special cases, He had to show Himself in this manner since those people lived in countries where the preaching of the gospel is practically forbidden.
Going back to Cornelius, his heart was truly open and receptive, prepared to hear and accept the truth. When a person gets to this point, God sends someone to the person to show them the way and this is where Peter came in, the apostle who actually walked with Jesus and had intimate friendship with the Lord. When Peter preached the truth to Cornelius’ household, they immediately received the truth and salvation came to his house that day.
Are you wondering if God is real? Did you pray for God to show you the way? God can certainly show Himself mightily in dreams and visions but be open to an encounter with one who invites you to church with them or be attentive when an opportunity arises about an area where you have prayed to God for. God hears the sincere prayer of a true seeker as He did with Cornelius. He knows exactly when your heart is truly ready to receive Him.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13