Polycarp (70-155) was the last surviving link to Jesus’ original twelve apostles, having been a student of the apostle John. Polycarp served as bishop of Smyrna and was a respected leader in the early church. When the Roman Empire unleashed a new wave of persecutions against Christians. Polycarp was informed that Roman officials were coming to arrest him. While panic-stricken friends urged him to flee, he calmly waited for his captors at home. When they arrived, Polycarp requested food and drink be served to them. He made only one request: one hour to pray before they took him away.
The officers who overheard him praying began to have second thoughts. Why were they arresting a devout old man like this? He was taken to proconsul Quadratus who ordered him to offer incense before a statue of the emperor and deny allegiance to Christ. Polycarp refused, saying, “For eighty and six years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and Savior who has saved me?” When the proconsul urged him to reconsider, Polycarp stood his ground and was subsequently burned at the stake. His candid confession in the following prayer challenges us to do likewise.