“The prayer of a Christian brother who was in prison for years in Romania during the difficult years of the cold war. He prayed:

‘Lord, I look forward to the great day I see you and your family in heaven. I look forward to seeing the great evangelists standing before you. I look forward to the day I see all the missionaries coming home rejoicing with their sheaves. I look forward to hearing all the great singers of the world praising you. I look forward to seeing the great preachers of the ages standing before you.

“But Lord, I have one special request. When that day comes, allow me to be there in the clothing of a prisoner. I want to praise you throughout eternity in my prisoner’s clothes to always remind me that I was a prisoner for you.'”

I can’t imagine how I’d ever pray that prayer if I’d been imprisoned for years solely for my faith. In my own strength, I know I couldn’t.

But as Jesus promised, when that hour of testing comes, He said not to worry about what we’d say but that the Holy Spirit would give us utterance and the right words to say in the right moment. And perhaps the right words to pray as well.