Paul’s pivotal life experience is referred to as the Calling of Paul or the Damascus Road Experience–the day Jesus confronted Paul. Luke recorded the original incident in Acts 9:
[Paul] said, “Who are you, Master?”
“I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down.”
Paul’s retelling of the Damascus Road Experience appears in Acts 22. At that time, Paul had just been at the center of a riot in the temple, people were out to kill him, and as he was being half-arrested, half-pulled out to save his life, Paul turned around to address the crowd. He gave an address (we would call it a testimony), telling the people how he was converted from being a persecutor of Christians to one of its foremost spokespersons.
After telling about Jesus revealing himself on the Damascus Road, Paul explains what he does next:
What do I do now, Master? A simple, one-line prayer. The first question Paul asks after the Lord gets his attention. What do you have next for me?
The question becomes Paul’s lifelong prayer. He follows God’s call to the ends of the earth, proclaiming the Message as people try to imprison or kill him, but he continually asks,
What do I do now, Master?
In this simple response to a changed life, Paul sets an example for each of us who endeavor to follow Christ. His prayer is one we can pray every morning when we get up. His prayer is one we can pray as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. His prayer is one we can pray after walking across the stage to receive a high school diploma.
What do I do now, Master? is a question each Christ-follower should ask after the Lord brings us through a Damascus Road Experience, or any time he brings us through one chapter of our lives and into another. We all have watersheds in our lives, major transitions from one thing to another.
What do I do now, Master? is a prayer to be prayed on your way in or out of just such a time. It’ a prayer you might need to pray right now.
When did you last ask God to lead you to the next step in your life? Did you follow? What’s scary about asking God the what-next question? How might you incorporate Paul’s prayer into your life?
If you like this and you’d like to read more, check out my book, Ask Seek Knock. Thanks.
Copyright Tony Jones, 2008. Used by permission of NavPress. www.navpress.com
Image courtesy of The Brick Testament
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