An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get ready and go south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This road is not used nowadays.)

And now send some men to Joppa for a certain man whose full name is Simon Peter.

He is a guest in the home of a tanner of leather named Simon, who lives by the sea."

He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, 'Send someone to Joppa for a man whose full name is Simon Peter.

When the believers found out about this, they took Saul to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul.

Paul answered, "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Please let me speak to the people."

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here in Jerusalem as a student of Gamaliel. I received strict instruction in the Law of our ancestors and was just as dedicated to God as are all of you who are here today.

And then, whoever calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.'

Repent, then, of this evil plan of yours, and pray to the Lord that he will forgive you for thinking such a thing as this.

There you will look for the LORD your God, and if you search for him with all your heart, you will find him.

In his suffering he became humble, turned to the LORD his God, and begged him for help.

God accepted Manasseh's prayer and answered it by letting him go back to Jerusalem and rule again. This convinced Manasseh that the LORD was God.

Everything else that Manasseh did, the prayer he made to his God, and the messages of the prophets who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are all recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

The king's prayer and God's answer to it, and an account of the sins he committed before he repented---the evil he did, the pagan places of worship and the symbols of the goddess Asherah that he made and the idols that he worshiped---are all recorded in The History of the Prophets.

He will not let them be destroyed; he saves them from death itself.

Those who are sick lose their appetites, and even the finest food looks revolting.

they are about to go to the world of the dead.

In mercy the angel will say, "Release them! They are not to go down to the world of the dead. Here is the ransom to set them free."

when they pray, God will answer; they will worship God with joy; God will set things right for them again.

He kept me from going to the world of the dead, and I am still alive."

When I did not confess my sins, I was worn out from crying all day long.

Then I confessed my sins to you; I did not conceal my wrongdoings. I decided to confess them to you, and you forgave all my sins.

I waited patiently for the LORD's help; then he listened to me and heard my cry.

He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a rock and made me secure.

Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise me."

From the depths of my despair I call to you, LORD.

If you kept a record of our sins, who could escape being condemned?

The LORD is pleased when good people pray, but hates the sacrifices that the wicked bring him.

Turn to the LORD and pray to him, now that he is near.

Let the wicked leave their way of life and change their way of thinking. Let them turn to the LORD, our God; he is merciful and quick to forgive.

Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.

You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart.

"I hear the people of Israel say in grief, ' LORD, we were like an untamed animal, but you taught us to obey. Bring us back; we are ready to return to you, the LORD our God.

"Israel, you are my dearest child, the one I love best. Whenever I mention your name, I think of you with love. My heart goes out to you; I will be merciful.

From deep inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God:

You threw me down into the depths, to the very bottom of the sea, where the waters were all around me, and all your mighty waves rolled over me.

"I will fill the descendants of David and the other people of Jerusalem with the spirit of mercy and the spirit of prayer. They will look at the one whom they stabbed to death, and they will mourn for him like those who mourn for an only child. They will mourn bitterly, like those who have lost their first-born son.

"Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock.

And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

For those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks.

Now, will God not judge in favor of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them?

Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else.

The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, 'I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there.

But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, 'God, have pity on me, a sinner!'

And he said to Jesus, "Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!"

Jesus said to him, "I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me."

Jesus answered, "If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water."