There are scores of examples of obedience to the voice of God in Scripture, but one that I have always loved is about a man named Ananias.  What I love about this example is that we really do not know anything at all about Ananias.  We find Ananias first mentioned in Acts 9 and then Paul refers to him again in Acts 22.  This is the only time he is mentioned, but his impact is so important.

We are introduced to Ananias by Luke mentioning in Acts 9 that there was a certain man, a disciple, in Damascus.  Somehow Ananias became part of the larger sect of believers in Jesus in these early years of the church.  Damascus was approximately 150 miles from Jerusalem, so it wasn’t just a day’s walk.  We do not know who he was or what he did as a way of living.  All we know is what really matters; he was a believer, he was a man of prayer full of the Holy Spirit. 

The Lord told Ananias to go to Saul, who Ananias only knew to be a persecutor and enemy of the cross.  In obedience, Ananias goes at once to Saul to heal him and fill him with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17).  You can’t give away what you don’t already have!  Not just that, but we also read that Ananias spoke these words to Saul, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth.  For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard” (Acts 22:14-15, NASB).

We don’t know about Ananias’ life before this instruction to prepare Saul to become Paul, and we know nothing about Ananias life after this moment.  What we do know is that it was Ananias’s obedience to the voice of God that opened up the ministry of the one who would be responsible for writing a great portion of what we call the New Testament and preparing the way for gentiles (us) to receive salvation for sins; for us gentiles to be grafted into Christ to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

My prayer is that you and I be ready and available for that one moment of impact like Ananias.  Be men and women of prayer, seeking to hear the voice of God and then be obedient to what you hear!  I desire to live a faith-full life in obedience to His voice, His word!