‘… the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time.’ (Acts 16:6)
How do you get guidance from the Lord? As I write this article, I’ve been putting together messages based on Christmas nativity passages where divine guidance seems to come by way of angelic visitations, dreams and reading astrological charts. They are fascinating passages, but I’m not sure they are a ‘how to’ guide for discovering God’s will. It is important to remember that these dramatic moments of guidance came before God had poured out His Spirit at Pentecost.
My experience has been more in line with Paul’s dusty footprints as he takes the gospel through Phrygia and Galatia, having been ‘prevented’ by the Spirit from taking the gospel to Asia. Paul was already on the move with the gospel as he received guidance from the Spirit, but he does not tell us exactly how the Spirit ‘prevented’ him entering Asia. Was it a vision, like ‘the man from Macedonia?’ Was it a worship gathering, like the one at Antioch where the Spirit said (in some way) that Paul and Barnabas needed to be set apart for mission work?
