It is so important that we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in all that we do. And in order to know that the Spirit is leading us, it is important to take some time out of our busy day and fall down upon our knees in prayer. This is when we call upon the Lord and ask for His guidance. We can also ask Him if what we are doing now is according to His will or if we need to turn and go a different direction. Sometimes God may also tell us to remove certain things from our lives, that we might fully be led by Him and not the flesh. This can be anything that is taking our precious time away from God, our Father. We all know certain things that do this already, so we allow God to change us from being a weak vessel for Him into a vessel that is strong and mighty. Yes, with God in our lives, we can do all things through His hands. It was Paul that knew the importance of allowing the Spirit to lead him, and therefore, he listened when the Spirit spoke to Him. But beforehand, this is what Paul was up to. It is written, “and it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.” (Acts 21:1-3)
It was in Tyre that the Holy Spirit began to speak to Paul, while also warning him to not go up to Jerusalem. It is written, “and finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed. And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.” (Acts 21:4-6) It was at this time that Paul went to his first destination, just as we would on our own mission trips. But instead of going forth to our next destination with the other disciples, God told Paul, as He also tells us, that it was not the right time to go to Jerusalem. The Spirit tells us the same things. This can be very tough, especially when we already have a big group of people ready to go to the place we believe God is calling us to. This can add a wrench to our plans, but if the Holy Spirit is telling us not to go to the place we want to go to, there is always a different place He does want us to go to instead. That is when we come together with the people in the church and kneel down together and pray as a church family. I promise you that if this happens, that God will give you the answer you need, and even lead them in an entirely new direction. This is God’s will for us.
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that we will all learn to be led by the Holy Spirit and not our own flesh. Keep our eyes fixed upon You, God, that we may walk in Your abundant light and not in darkness. It is not my desire to do things that go against Your will, but to be led by Your hand in every which way in my life. Therefore, do whatever You need to in my life and every believer’s life also, while removing anything that is keeping us from following You completely. Every bad habit and addiction we give it all to you, Jesus. Show us what is causing us to sin against You, that we may not fall back in those sinful ways again. I do not wish to quench the Holy Spirit and I know that my dear brothers and sisters in the faith do not wish to also. Sometimes we do things not knowing we are causing any harm to our stance with You, God. So bring things to our recollection, that we may not continue doing things that seem good on the outside, but are filthy on the inside. Yes, God, I ask that You lead me by the hand. As I pray earnestly now, open my eyes to what needs to happen next. Help me to know who I need to speak to, in order to share Your gospel truths with them. My time is Yours, so keep me inline with Your laws and statutes for my life. Your Word, the Bible, is a lamp unto my feet, so lead me as I read and study it daily. May Your words be imprinted on my heart at all times. Then, will I know Your counsel for my life and not be led astray. I love You, Jesus. I will follow You. Amen.
