And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Acts 10:45-46

That the Jewish believers were astonished that God would/could save Gentiles probably seems a little foreign to us. We have two thousand years of Church history behind us during which most believers were Gentile. In that day however, the Jewish-Gentile divide was stark. It was one of the biggest, if not the biggest issue in the first generation of Christians.

But I wonder how many of us struggle with the same issue even if the parties are not Jewish and Gentile. I wonder how many of us pray for unsaved family and friends, not really believing that God would/could save them. Whether they are Jewish or Gentile may not be the sticking point, but what about non-believers of different religions? Can God save Muslims, or Hindus, or Buddhists, or hard core secularists? Of course we know that He can, but when we pray for them, is it with little or no faith? Do we give up praying for them altogether after a while?

Because we know that God not only can, but does save all kinds of people—including the least likely sometimes, let is pray for, and speak of Christ to as many people as we can, without thought of whether or not they are likely candidates!