A number of centurions are mentioned in the Bible; but two are particularly impressive. (By the way, a Centurion was an officer in Roman army having control over 100 other soldiers). The first one that comes to mind is recorded in Matthew 8. He approached Jesus on behalf of his servant who took ill. Jesus offered to come to his home to get the lad healed. But being a man who understood how authority worked, he asked Jesus to just speak a word. The faith exercised by this man was so great that Jesus had to commend him publicly. He got what he wanted; his servant was healed at the instance of the spoken word.

 “If we are ready to do all we can, God will meet us the remainder of the way and do what we cannot handle. Sincere efforts at anything will draw the attention of God.”

The other Centurion is mentioned in Acts 10 and he is the focus of our consideration here. He had the report that he feared God, gave alms to the poor, fasted and prayed to God always. Basically, all these point to a life that is devout. It was in the course of one of those periods of prayer and fasting that he had a vision of angel. He was to send men to fetch Peter from Joppa who, on arrival, would tell him what was necessary to do. Even though all of his prayers, fasting and alms seemed insufficient to get him saved, they were enough to connect him to the next level. God complimented his efforts by connecting him to someone who would show him the way. This encounter reminds us of how God operates. If we are ready to do all we can, God will meet us the remainder of the way and do what we cannot handle. Sincere efforts at anything will draw the attention of God.