This article was originally written for Christ Hold Fast. The enduring struggle of believers of all walks of life continues to be a longing for assurance. I can recall several of my peers confessing to wanting an assurance of their faith growing up — a verification, of sorts, that their salvation was real, genuine, honest. Perhaps this was due to a flawed teaching of God’s salvation or their own faulty understanding of it, and wherein one’s grounds for confidence in it lied. Regardless, if you’ve spent any amount of time in church, I think you’d have to agree that among the most popular prayers uttered in sanctuaries across the country are prayers appealing for assurance of faith. Interestingly enough, much of what we hold dear as Protestants results from another believer’s quest for assurance, too. The impetus, in large part, behind Martin Luther’s campaign against the Roman Catholic Church in what is now known as the Protestant Reformation is, essentially, a recovery of biblical assurance.