Knowing God’s Will Personally
| By: Nancy Missler; ©2000 |
| We CAN know God’s will for our lives. Nancy Missler looks at ways God has revealed it to us, and how we can recognize it. |
Contents
How Does God Let Us Know His Specific Will?
Hopefully, exploring God’s sovereign will, His revealed will, His will for all mankind and His will for believers has been helpful. But, what about daily knowing God’s specific, individual and personal will for our lives? “Should we take that new job offer?” “Would it be better if we move to that new city?” “Will our daughter be happier in that other school?” “Should I marry….?” “Do you want me to have that operation?” “…take that medication?” “…Go here?” “…Do this?”
How can we know God’s specific will for these kinds of things?
The first and most important ingredient in knowing God’s individual will is having a love relationship with Him—loving Him with all our heart, mind and soul. Through this relationship and the intimacy it affords us, God will reveal His will, His purposes and His ways. Our spiritual direction will only come from this love-relationship. Human logic and reason cannot be sources for spiritual guidance in our lives. As Christians, we cannot trust in our own understanding, any more than we can trust in our own righteousness. There is a much greater scheme of things that is not yet given to our human understanding, and this can only be revealed spiritually.
There are at least four different ways that we can know God’s personal will.
The first and the most important way, is through the reading of His Word. This is the purest, the simplest and the surest way that God speaks to us. Besides the unparalleled gift of His Son, the Bible is the Lord’s greatest gift to mankind, and yet few believers know the full range of its wisdom and power.
George Muller, the famous English teacher who, by faith alone, established a ministry to feed and house thousands upon thousands of orphans said, “Our outward man is not fit for work unless our inward man eats God’s Word.”
In addition to the written Word, God also speaks to our spirits through times of prayer and fasting. These are the times when we are still before the Lord and we can hear Him much more clearly. Often, when we are frazzled and tyrannized by the urgent, we’re unable to hear the gentle sound of a breeze, and it’s the same way with God’s voice. We cannot hear His still, small voice when our minds are consumed with our daily responsibilities. For this reason, it’s imperative to daily still and quiet our souls in order to receive His guidance.
Another way we can know God’s Will is by staying cleansed and yielded to God’s Spirit. It’s only through God’s Spirit communicating to our spirit that we can hear His voice and that He can personally lead, guide and direct our way.
And finally, we can know God’s Will through the counsel of other Christians, and by the confirmation of circumstances that He allows in our lives.
Let’s explore in greater detail each of these ways of personally knowing God’s will.
God Speaks to Us Through His Word
The Bible tells us that God has a plan and a purpose for each of our lives and that His plan is specific and personal. Listen to Psalm 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way,”[1] and Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct [you] and teach [you] in the way which [you] shall go.”[2]
The first place we should go, then, to get guidance from the Lord is to His Word.[3] The Bible is a personal Love-letter from God, through which He teaches, exhorts, rebukes, encourages, corrects, inspires, trains and guides us.[4]
Before we even open our Bibles, it’s imperative to pray, cleanse our hearts and ask God to open our spiritual understanding so that we can hear His voice and know His will.[5] Also, it’s helpful to memorize Scriptures, then no matter what hardships we are in or where we are, it can bring life and guidance.[6] If we have God’s Word memorized, then we can still meditate on His Word, even when we are away from home and our Bibles.
Reading the Word of God daily is how we are going to know God’s specific will for that particular day. I don’t mean just opening our Bible and haphazardly reading a passage or two, but having some sort of consistent daily reading plan. There are many good books that have “suggested” reading plans. Go to a Christian bookstore and see which particular book and plan appeals to you.
When I first began a daily reading program, I started by reading three chapters a day—one in the Old Testament, one in the New Testament and one in Psalms or Proverbs. At the time, that seemed like a reasonable commitment to make. Over the years, I’ve gradually added more chapters to my daily reading.
I also find it extremely valuable to keep a daily journal. When I am struggling to know God’s specific will on some issue, I write out my questions to the Lord in my journal (making sure to ask for His guidance on only one question at a time). Then, I read my daily reading.[7] Sometimes His answers will come immediately. At other times, I must wait a few days or even a week, but whatever the time frame, I have learned to persevere because I know God will be faithful to reveal His specific will, in His timing and in His way. In my over forty years as a Christian, He has never failed me.
As I read my daily reading, I prayerfully expect God to answer me concerning my specific questions. When I find a Scripture that seems to apply to one of my issues, I write it down and put a question mark beside it. When God confirms that Scripture at least two or three more times, then I believe I have His answer and I’m also confident that He will give me the strength I need to “walk out” His Word.
The Scriptures seem to suggest to seek the Lord three times for His answer to a specific question.[8] If He doesn’t answer by the end of the third time, He is either saying “No” or “Wait.”
Here are four simple suggestions for hearing God’s will through His Word:
- ERASE & PRAY (submit our own will and pray for God to guide us).
- READ & REMEMBER (read God’s Word and remember His principles).
- CONSIDER & MEDITATE (consider specific Scriptures, then write them down and meditate on them).
- DECIDE & CHECK (make your decision, and then check for spiritual peace).
The Lord will tell us specifically what to do and specifically what not to do. He will teach us, He will guide us, He will exhort us and He will give us the discernment we need through reading the Word.
The Promises of God in the Bible
This brings up a good question: Can we take the promises of God in the Bible literally? When we come across a promise in Scripture, can we apply that specific promise to our own lives?
Before we even consider doing this, we must first seek an accurate interpretation of that particular Scripture. In other words, we must not mishandle God’s Word. Misinterpreting the Word of God is always dangerous—and sometimes deadly. Flipping the Bible open and randomly pointing to a passage, or taking a particular Scripture out of context, or even using a Scripture “promise box,” is somewhat like consulting a spiritual Ouija board. It’s a form of divination, and should not be trusted.
Once agaln, the safest way to know if we can apply a Scripture to our own life situation is to be involved in a daily reading plan. If we come across something in our daily reading that relates to our situation, as I mentioned before, we should write it down in our journal. If it’s applicable to our situation, the Lord will confirm it at least two or three more times, again through our daily reading. (In other words, we don’t have to jump all over God’s Word in order to find compatible Scriptures, He will bring the appropriate ones to us!) Then, He will validate those Scriptures through our prayer time, through our submission to His Spirit, and through other counselors. Only then will we know that specific Scripture is from Him and for our particular situation.
Keep in mind that, even though God’s promises are true, their fulfillment in our lives often lies beyond our understanding. God is so limitless that His eternal view of the events here on earth is vastly different from our own. Therefore, when we hear His words, we must approach them very carefully. In other words, the way God might fulfill His promises to us may totally confound our understanding, challenge our thought processes, and even disappoint our earthly hopes.
As the Lord Himself says in Isaiah 55:9, “…As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways…”
