"Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.
Acts 22:12-15

Paul (Saul at the time) went to Damascus as he was directed by Jesus Himself. There, a Christian man named Ananias came to him. Ananias laid his hands on Paul, prophesied over him, “Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once;” (Acts 9:18).

Before getting into what Ananias said when laying hands on Paul, it is valuable to be reminded about Ananias’s conversation with the Lord. Read what is recorded in the initial account in Acts 9:11-16.

11 So the Lord said to him, "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. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight."

The Lord told Ananias to find Saul of Tarsus. Ananias responded:

13 Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name."

Ananias knew about Saul the Persecutor and, for obvious reasons, was wary about going to Saul. The Lord assured Ananias with these words:

15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."

As we know, Ananias went and spoke to Paul as the Lord directed. How scary must that have been! May Ananias be an example to us that whatever we read in God’s Word, no matter how scary it may be, we must do, Obediently. By faith.

What were the contents of God’s message to Paul through Ananias? Next time.