While we are free to live and travel at will, knowing the boundary of our calling is important. To travel outside that boundary must be done with permission from the Lord.

Wherever I travel and see a sign denoting a city, county, or state boundary, I pray these words, “With permission, Lord.” I do not assume I am free to travel without the Lord’s permission. I want to cross those natural boundaries with the Lord’s permission, not my assumptions. 

Some things we encounter in our travels will take us to places under the influence of spirits that are not from God. Knowing we are traveling on an assignment from the Lord will be our protection in those unfamiliar places.

Paul never traveled based on his assumptions. His travels were always under a direction from the Lord. Paul had a vision. In that vision, “A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, Come over to Macedonia and help us! So, we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there” (Acts 16:9-10). Paul had to travel through different cities to get to Macedonia. Each city Paul traveled through became part of his expanding influence as the Spirit led him toward Athens.

While ministering in Athens, Paul preached these words, “For in Him we live and move and have our being” Acts 17:28). The “in Him” part revealed the expanding boundary of Paul’s influence as he traveled. Our travels and everything we do must be in Him, or we will be tempted to labor in the flesh, not in the Spirit. It was Paul’s understanding of that truth that released signs, wonders, and miracles that confronted the spirits who were in control of the cities and regions through which he traveled. That same assignment and its protection are available to each of us if we are being led by the Spirit, not by our assumptions.