Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke had a travel itinerary…from the seaport town of Troas they sailed a straight course for the island of Samothrace.  The next day they sailed to Neapolis and then they walked inland to a leading town in the district of Macedonia, Philippi.  (Acts 16:11-12)

These men had responded to the Lord’s leading them to Europe.  They stayed in Philippi for “some days.”

Paul had seen a vision of a man from Macedonia pleading for him to come.  Today that area is in Greece.
Scripture does not tell us how these men used their time in Philippi, but we can know they were about their Father’s business.

On the Sabbath (Saturday), they made their way to a riverside expecting to find a place of prayer…they found a group of women and they joined them.  (Acts 16:13)

What can we surmise from this one verse?  There were no churches established in Philippi that proclaimed Jesus Christ.  Paul and those three men told those women of the Lord Jesus.

How can we know that?  Because a woman named Lydia became a believer in Jesus.  How can we know that the Lord God had led Paul to this place of prayer on this Sabbath?

(NASB) Acts 16:14 “A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”  (Underlining added)

The Lord God opened her heart to respond to the Good News of Christ Jesus.  Is the Lord God opening your heart to respond to the facts, the truths and the promises of God through faith in the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ?

Have you noticed the sequence of events?
First, the four men responded to God’s vision by traveling quite a distance by ship and on foot.
Second, they spent time in Philippi and found out where people gathered for prayer to God, they were responding to God’s leading, again.
Third, a woman among that group of women responded to the message of God.

Perhaps you are a person the Lord God is calling to go tell others the Good News, of Jesus and His life, death and resurrection.  How are you responding to the Lord’s leading?

Perhaps you are one of those who are listening to the teachings of God in the Holy Bible.

How are you responding to the Lord’s leading…?