The Lord Jesus Christ had appeared to Saul as he was on his way to Damascus to persecute the believers there. Now, Ananias is commissioned by the Lord to go to Saul and minister to him so that he might receive his sight again and begin his own life of service. To reassure Ananias about the change that has taken place in Saul, the Lord tells him, "he is praying".
Furthermore, the Lord goes on to tell Ananias that he himself is going to be the Lord's answer to Saul's prayer by going to him and laying hands upon him.
These short phrases should tell Ananias all he needed to know about the relationship Saul now has with the Lord - they should assure him that Saul is now a true believer. Before he knew Jesus, Saul could not truly pray. All his attempts at prayer would have gone unheard by God. Like the proud Pharisee in the parable of the publican and the Pharisee, Saul would have been praying to himself, but not praying to the Lord.
How significant, then, that the Lord now describes what Saul is doing as "praying". How significant that the Lord should mention this activity to Ananias as evidence of Saul's changed heart. How significant that the Lord should show Ananias that He intended to answer the prayers of Saul. Now Saul's prayers are true prayers. Now, the Lord is attentive to his cries and answers them.
This is not just true for Saul of Tarsus, however. The fact is not just that all true children of God can pray. Rather, all true children of God will pray, and their prayers will be answered. It cannot be otherwise. All true children of God are indwelt by the Holy Spirit Who assures them of their relationship with their heavenly Father and causes spontaneous prayer to arise in their hearts.
So prayer is the outbreathing of the spiritual life that God has created in the believer.
This makes a very compelling reason for us to pray - because it is the evidence that we are God's children indeed. In the light of this, let's ensure that there is plenty of this evidence in our lives - that we pray often in private and at public gatherings of the church, and that the Lord says of us, "they are praying"!