And he was three days without sight,
and neither did eat nor drink.
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.
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,
And hath seen in a vision
a man named Ananias coming in,
and putting his hand on him,
that he might receive his sight.
Then Ananias answered,
Lord, I have heard by many of this man,
how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
But the Lord said unto him,
Go thy way:
for he is a chosen vessel unto me,
to bear my name before the Gentiles,
and kings, and the children of Israel:
For I will shew him how great things
he must suffer for my name's sake.
And Ananias went his way,
and entered into the house;
and putting his hands on him said,
Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus,
that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me,
that thou mightest receive thy sight,
and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales:
and he received sight forthwith,
and arose,
and was baptized.
Acts 9:9-18
"For three days.....These days of soul agony were to him as years. Again and again he recalled, with anguish
of spirit, the part he had taken in the martyrdom of Stephen. During the long hours when Saul was shut in with God alone, he recalled many of the passages of Scripture referring to the first advent of Christ. Carefully he traced down the prophecies, with a memory sharpened by the conviction that had taken possession of his mind. As he reflected on the meaning of these prophecies he was astonished at his former blindness of understanding and at the blindness of the Jews in general, which had led to the rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah. To his enlightened vision all now seemed plain." Acts of the Apostles p.118,119 E.G.W.