People of Prayer

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus was so unexpected that hardly anyone even believed it. But God said to Ananias, ” ‘Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.’ ” (Acts 9:11). Ananias went and found Saul in prayer.

The same should be said of us. We should be known as people of prayer.

Daniel was well known as a man of prayer. His adversaries tried to find charges to bring against him, something against his character or his lifestyle, yet he was squeaky clean. But they did know one thing about Daniel: he prayed every day, three times a day. When they devised a royal decree that no one could pray, except to the king, Daniel did not stop. He went home and prayed three times that day, as usual. He was faithful to pray, and God was faithful to save him from the lions (see Daniel 6).

The prayer that we call the Lord’s Prayer was given in response to the request of the disciples who said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). That should be the heart cry of every Christian: “Lord, teach me how to pray.” Not only should our desire for effective prayer be our heart cry, but prayer should be a defining characteristic of our lives.