“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Luke 23:43 (NIV)
How often in scripture has the phrase, “Remember me” been said to God. I found five instances in scripture where people have prayed these simple words in their individual and desperate situation.
Samson said “Remember me” to God, after his hair was cut, his eyes were put out, and he lost all his strength. As a prisoner, close to his own death, he asked for one last restoration of strength to defeat the enemy of his people.
Hannah, after years of being barren, wanted a child of her own so much, that she went to the temple one day and travailed in prayer, with words that began “Remember me.”
Nehemiah, the prophet, asked God to “Remember me,” when all he wanted was to rebuild the temple for his people, when his enemies put up a stronghold of resistance against him.
King Hezekiah, while lying on his death bed with a terminal illness, turned his face to the wall and prayed to God, saying, “Remember me,” as he reminded God that he has lived his life with nothing but single hearted faith and integrity.
Finally, there was the thief hanging next to Jesus on a cross, in his dying moments, who turned to Him, with no righteousness or integrity to speak of, but presented himself to Jesus, as he was, asking Him to “Remember me,” when you come into your kingdom. Jesus assured him that he would be with Him in Paradise, that day.
Every one of these bible characters who prayed “Remember me” received the answer they asked God for:
Samson received one last restoration of strength and defeated the Philistines.
Hannah had a baby boy.
King Hezekiah was completely healed.
Nehemiah built the temple.
The Thief on the cross was forgiven and welcomed by Jesus in heaven later that day.
Whether our desperate need is for ourself or for someone else, “Remember me,” is still a meaningful prayer, and a plea that reaches the heart of God. It doesn’t matter if we are like Nehemiah and Hezekiah, having walked a single hearted life of faith in God, or if we have slipped and fallen along the way like Samson and the thief on the cross.
If we come to God with desperate hearts, open like Hannah’s, coming to Him just as we are, we know His mercy is the same toward us as He was to the people in these stories. Let us implore God’s heart of mercy today and ask Him to “Remember me.”
Jesus, thank you for giving us a renewed hope of mercy from these examples in scripture. Please have mercy on us and meet every need that is in our hearts today as we pray, “Remember me.”
Amen
