Scripture to Memorize
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30
Passage to Read
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. . . .
After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them.
Acts 16:13–15, 40
Guided Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for the example of Lydia. May you find me, as Paul found her, in a place of prayer. Help me to find a group of faithful prayer warriors I can gather with on a regular basis. I confess that I have sometimes neglected the gathering together of your saints and at other times we have gathered for every purpose under the sun other than prayer.
Holy Spirit, keep my heart open to the people you will send into my life in response to my prayers, even as you sent Paul in response to Lydia’s prayers. I pray that I’ll be known as a worshiper of God. I also want to open my home to your workers and show hospitality to your people. Make my home, like hers, a center of your activity in my community. Amen.
Lydia is a tremendous role model of a first-century Proverbs 31 woman. Like the Old Testament example, she was a businesswoman who sold high-end fabric. In other words, she worked in the fashion industry. Yet she was known not just as a businesswoman but also as a worshiper of God and a woman who feared the Lord. She was able to balance her financial and spiritual life in a healthy way.
Lydia was almost certainly a hard worker, but she wasn’t a workaholic. I know that because she had a routine habit of honoring the Sabbath, gathering with other godly women to pray and fellowship. When God’s man for her city showed up, she was on her knees praying. My guess is that she was praying, “God, send someone to help us reach this city.” So when God sent an answer, she recognized it. She was watching and praying.
I notice, too, that she immediately opens her home. This tells me it was probably in good order—do you invite people home when the place is in chaos? Probably not! She had positioned herself and her home to be ready for God’s use at a moment’s notice.
Sisters, the reason we’ve worked so hard to get our homes in order is not to congratulate ourselves on what wonderful housekeepers we are. The purpose, above all else, is that our homes can become a center for God’s work in our community. Lydia was willing to open her home as a place of outreach. She and her friends were the first Christians in all of Europe, so it’s not likely that she was inviting over the women from the church missionary society. They were all either seekers or brand-new believers. But she didn’t hesitate to invite them all over. Think about that!
Now here’s something that didn’t hit me until recently, even though I’ve studied the Bible for almost thirty years. When Paul and Silas got out of prison, they went to Lydia’s little house church and greeted—who? The sisters? The sewing circle? The ladies’ Bible study? No, it says they met “the brothers.” Paul had spoken to Lydia and a group of women. We don’t know how the other women responded; we only know that Lydia and her household believed. Paul and Silas were the only known male believers on the entire European continent and they were in jail. Yet when they were released from jail, it appears that a thriving house church was meeting in Lydia’s home.
How do you suppose that came about?
I suspect some very powerful ministry was taking place in Lydia’s home. How about your home? Is it a place of ministry? Or is it just a place for amusement and self-gratification? Yes, it’s important to have a place to kick off your shoes and be yourself, and home should be that place. But home can be more than that. Your home can become central to the work of God in your neighborhood. It will mean keeping the place in reasonable enough order that you can say, “Come home with me” at a moment’s notice. It means having systems in place so your household runs smoothly enough for you to host routine gatherings of believers without disrupting the household. It means creating an atmosphere of prayer and blessing that immediately grabs the attention of everyone who walks through your front door.
Recently I visited such a home in Bogotá, Colombia. Twenty years ago, God spoke to a beautiful, gifted woman named Inga Suarez and instructed her to open her home for a weekly Bible study. Once a week, they have to remove all furniture from the first floor so they can bring in three hundred chairs to accommodate all the people who want to hear Inga teach. Inga is now the head of women’s ministries for the National Association of Evangelical Churches in Colombia and, for the record, every piece of clothing she wears is custom designed by her daughter-in-law and hand-tailored just for her. She is one of the most elegant women I’ve ever met. She looks just like how I picture Lydia: an irresistible blend of godliness and sophistication. No wonder she has now been invited to speak in twenty-six countries around the world! And it all began in her living room.
God only knows what he can do through one woman on her knees who is willing to say, “Come to my house. Let’s learn about God together.” God only knows, but wouldn’t you like to find out? One thing we know for sure: a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Affirmation: I open my home to the work of God.
Practical
Pray and seek God’s direction. What does he want to do with your home? How can your home serve the kingdom of God? Consider hosting a small-group Bible study, youth group meeting, or some other gathering.