² He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.

Ask, Search, Knock

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.^{(A) 8} For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.^(B)

⁴ He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.^(A)

²² They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous^[a] and God-fearing man who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish people, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”^(A)

¹⁶ So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak:

“Fellow Israelites^[a] and others who fear God, listen.

³⁵ but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness^[a] is acceptable to him.^(A)

⁷ When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him,

⁸ Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household, and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized.^(A)