Acts 9:11 (NLT)
He is praying to me right now.
We are conditioned to believe that praying is a necessary but futile exercise. Nothing is farther from the truth. Praying or conversing with God our Father in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ is a real-time event with real-time results. In this verse, we notice that at the very moment, Saul of Tarsus was praying to God, the Lord appeared to Ananias to give him real-time instructions about the condition and location of the future Apostle, Paul of Tarsus. Praying in the Holy Spirit and the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ causes God to act and set a series of universe-shattering and life-altering events into motion. Paul was praying fervently in utter confusion and amazement after being blinded by the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. But what was confusing to Paul was very clear to Ananias. Paul's prayer set into motion the greatest upheaval in Christendom and events that evangelized Western Europe and shook the foundations of hell.
Let us not despair that God has not answered our prayers. Praying fervently in the Holy Spirit and the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ obtains real-time results if we persevere.