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The Lord commissions Ananias:
v. 10. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
v. 11. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus; for, behold, he prayeth,
v. 12. and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight.
A certain disciple there was at Damascus, one of those whose life and liberty Saul had set out to seek. His name was Ananias ("Jehovah is gracious"), more appropriate in this case than in that of his namesake, chap. 5. Whether he was a presbyter of the congregation at Damascus, as some commentators have suggested, cannot be determined. To him the Lord appeared in a vision, whether in a dream by night or in a condition of ecstasy by day, is not stated, and called him by name. Ananias, in immediate obedience, signified his readiness to hear the command of the Lord, for he recognized in the speaker his Lord, Jesus Christ, the Head of His Church. And the Lord at once gave him the necessary, explicit directions. He was to arise and to proceed to the street which bore the name Straight, conspicuous even today in a city full of crooked and curved streets, as having only a few slight angles in the length of a mile. It runs westward from the eastern gate into the heart of the city. On this street there lived a man by the name of Judas, and in his house Saul had found lodging. The Lord had directed Saul to go to the city, where he would be told what he should do. For a matter of three days the stricken man, in total darkness, had waited for the promised message. It is often a part of God's specific plan to lay inactivity upon some person, by sickness or by some other affliction. At such a time the heart has sufficient opportunity for earnest, prayerful communion with God. The new spiritual life of Saul was giving evidence of its presence in prayer; in prayer he was obtaining strength and patience to endure the test of the Lord to the end. And a vision had also been granted to him in which he had seen the very Ananias to whom the Lord was now speaking come in to him and restore his sight by the laying on of hands. The vision had been granted Saul partly to give him the assurance of healing, partly to make him see the hand of God in all the things which were befalling him.