4, 5. How did Paul and his traveling companions experience the direction of the holy spirit?

⁴ To begin with, the apostles were watchful for direction on where to preach. In one account, we learn how Jesus used the holy spirit, which Jehovah put at his disposal, to guide the apostle Paul and his traveling companions during a most unusual journey. (Acts 2:33) Let us join them.​—Read Acts 16:6-10.

6, 7. (a) What happened to Paul and the other travelers near Bithynia? (b) What decision did the disciples make, and with what result?

⁶ Where did the eager travelers go? Verse 7 explains: “Further, when getting down to Mysia they made efforts to go into Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus did not permit them.” Prevented from preaching in Asia, Paul and his companions turned northward, intending to preach in the cities of Bithynia. However, when they neared Bithynia, Jesus again used the holy spirit to block them. By then, the men must have been puzzled. They knew what to preach and how to preach, but they did not know where to preach. We might put it this way: They had knocked on the door leading to Asia​—but in vain. They had knocked on the door leading to Bithynia​—again in vain. Did they stop knocking? Not those zealous preachers!