By Rev. J. Loren Russell
“Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias. “And he said, “Here I am, Lord.””
Acts 9:10 NKJV
There are many examples in the Bible of people being called by God and responding in the affirmative, “Here am I, or Here I am.” In the book of Genesis, the Lord called Abraham (Gen 22:1), and Jacob (Gen. 31:11). In the book of Exodus, He called Moses (Exo. 3:4). 1 Samuel, he called a young man named Samuel who responded, “Speak; for thy servant heareth” (1 Sam. 3:10). In the Book of Isaiah, the Lord asked who can I send, and Isaiah answered and said, ”Here am I Lord, send me” (Isa. 6:8). Each one of these servants heard the voice of God and exhibited their willingness to be used even though they had no idea of what the job requirement might be. It was not the abilities of the servants that the Lord was interested in, it was their availability.
It is not enough to merely hear the voice of God or even know His will. You must be ready, willing, and able to do the work He will assign to you. In the scripture text cited for this article, Ananias was a disciple of Christ. There are no specific details of his life that are revealed except that he was called by God. He was told to go to a street called Straight, into the house of a man named Judas and ask for a man called Saul of Tarsus. He was told that Saul was praying and was given a vision of “a man named Ananias coming into the house and putting his hands on him so that he might receive his sight” (Acts 9:12). Ananias pushed back hard because he had heard of this man named Saul. This man was persecuting any and everyone who were followers of Christ.
But it’s amazing what happens when people step out of their comfort zones and into the realm of faith. Ananias lost his fear. He lost his apprehension and he gained power and authority. He went to Straight Street, found Saul, laid his hands on him and Saul regained his sight. Abraham stepped out on faith when he heard His voice which led to his only son Isaac being spared the tortuous death by sacrifice (Gen. 22:11-19). Jacob’s obedience enabled him to take his children, his livestock and all his possessions to the land of Canaan (Gen. 31:12-21).
There are a couple of other interesting observations that occurred as a result of hearing and obeying the voice of the Lord. All these people were praying when they heard the voice of the Lord. The proud and influential Saul of Tarsus yielded to the instructions and guidance of a relatively unknown man named Ananias (Acts 9:17). Abraham found a ram stuck in the thicket that he could use as a sacrifice in place of his son (Gen. 22:13). Jacob was finally able to leave the land of his father-in-law with all his possessions as well as his wives (Gen. 31:43-55).
When we are praying, we need to listen in addition to talking. The Lord just might want to tell us something, but we might miss it if we are doing all of the talking. If you have ever had a conversation with someone who will not let you get a word in edgewise, you know what I’m talking about. Adrian Rogers says in his book, What Every Christian Ought to Know Day by Day, “Sometimes our prayer is ‘Listen Lord, Your servant is speaking,” not “Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening”.
In the times in which we live, and the many challenges we face, there is no better time to listen so that we hear the voice of the Lord.
Be Blessed.
Rev. J. Loren Russell is President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church Financial Strategy & Consulting; an associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx; creator/host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio, Monday’s 8:00 – 10:00 PM (626-226-1448) and author of Matters of Faith: The Book, an eBook available at Smashwords.com.
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