Breathtaking Prayer

The story of Ananias in the 9th chapter of Acts does not actually say that this disciple of Damascus was actually praying, but since he had a vision and the Word says that the Lord said, "Get up and go..." (Acts 9:11),  it is assumed that he was kneeling in prayer.  And certainly if prayer is defined as a conversation with the Lord, Ananias was praying.  It was not the kind of praying most of us are accustomed to doing. Ananias heard the voice of the Lord calling his name, was told what to do, and, finally, was told that Saul to whom he was to go was praying and had seen him coming in a vision. 

 

It must have been a breathtaking moment of prayer.  It must have been one that caused Ananias to feel weak in the knees and scared within an inch of his life.  One part of him must have surely been telling him that to go was to go and die while another part of him was saying obedience gave him no choice.  If the angels in heaven were given a front row seat to that unfolding drama there in Damascus, they must have surely been holding holy breath as they waited to see what Ananias was going to do.

 

Not many of us would declare our prayer life to be so exciting.  Of course, one prayer moment like the one Ananias had that day in Damascus might cause our hearts to race so fast we would arrive early in the heavenly grandstand where the witnesses gather.  Maybe we are missing something.  Maybe our prayer life is mundane and nothing to write home about because something is amiss in the way we pray.   I wonder what it might be.  Maybe you wonder, too.