Acts 9: Saul to Paul

Scripture

Acts 9:1–22

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”

Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

Scripture Reflection

No one is beyond the reach of Jesus. No heart is too hardened, no life too violent, no opposition too fierce. Saul of Tarsus was a sworn enemy of the Church, breathing threats and violence — yet in a moment, Jesus revealed Himself in unstoppable mercy and turned an enemy into a friend, a persecutor into an apostle, a destroyer into a builder of the Kingdom.

In every season of revival, God delights to save the “Sauls” of our generation — those who seem farthest from faith, even hostile to the Church. These conversions become living proof of the power of the gospel. They astonish the watching world, confound the critics, and fill the people of God with fresh wonder.

Saul’s story also reminds us that revival is not just a moment of power, but a reshaping of a life. The same Jesus who blinded Saul with light also sent Ananias to restore him, commission him, and enfold him into the family of believers. Transformations like this are what we long to see: dramatic, undeniable, and rooted in the love and community of the Church.

May we pray boldly for Damascus-road encounters in our day. May we welcome and disciple the Sauls whom God surprises with mercy. And may we stand in awe at the unstoppable reach of Jesus, who still says, “Go, for he is my chosen instrument.”

Praying it UP / IN / OUT

UP: Worship Jesus for His unstoppable mercy and power to transform even the hardest hearts. Give thanks for His ability to redeem anyone.

IN: Pray that your heart would never grow cynical or hopeless about those who seem far from God. Ask for faith to believe for impossible conversions.

OUT: Intercede for the “Sauls” of our region — those actively opposing Christ or lost in hatred, addiction, or violence — that God would meet them with blinding light, transform them, and raise them up as instruments of His glory.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus,

You are the Light of the world who breaks into the darkest places. We praise You for Your mercy that found Saul and turned him from enemy to friend, from persecutor to preacher, from destroyer to builder.

Do it again, Lord. In our day, meet the Sauls on their own Damascus roads. Interrupt their violence with Your voice. Blind them with Your glory. Open their eyes to see You and raise them up as Your chosen instruments.

Forgive us for how easily we doubt Your power to save. Give us faith to believe that no one is beyond Your reach. Give us courage to welcome those You transform, to lay hands on them as Ananias did, and to receive them into Your family.

Let stories of radical redemption resound across New England until even the fiercest enemies of the gospel fall to their knees in worship.

Amen.