A Peek at my most recent requests

I have been praying a lot lately that I would have "eyes to see" God and "ears to hear" Him. I have been asking that the Holy Spirit give me eyes and ears to see where God is leading and to hear Him so that I can follow. Have had a couple glimmers of His leading so far.

Today while reading in Acts 16 I came across Paul and his companions on a journey and something interesting. Luke records that the Holy Spirit "prevented" them from going into Asia and then a bit later from going into Bithynia. This got me thinking... how did He do that?

We know that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity (a word not used but certainly depicted in the Bible representing God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls the "other counselor who will be with you forever) and as such can control time, space, nature, etc. So, was the prevention spiritual? If so, why doesn't Luke say, "the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul." Was it a vision? Did the Spirit use a natural disaster or physical road block to keep them from going there? I want to know because that's the kind of guy I am... one who wants to know. But the text doesn't say and any commentator who states for sure is crazy and only speculating at best.

So, I've added that to my list of questions to ask those dudes when I get to heaven. But I'm thinking also that maybe it was a combination of a few of those ideas I had. I've ruled out (if that's possible) the Spirit's direct communication with the group because certainly Luke, a stickler for detail, would have mentioned it had it happened. What I'm left with is some physical means that stopped them. Perhaps someone got sick and needed to get to a nearby village in the opposite direction. Maybe a bridge washed out or they ran out of food. Perhaps there were bandits or something on a certain road they heard about.

I guess the point for me is this, I have to be sensitive to the Spirit. Sensitive enough that I am able to go with the flow - understanding that it may be the Spirit leading me in another direction. I often want the direct contact means of spiritual nudging. I don't like to "guess" but maybe the way the Spirit works is sometimes direct and sometimes indirect.

My prayer today was that I be sensitive enough to the Spirit's work in my own life that I could be stopped or re-directed so that God's will is accomplished in and through my life. Whether He works through physical events or speaks directly or through visions I must be alert enough to go, "oh, the Spirit is working here." Give me eyes to see and ears to hear.