Principles for Knowing God's Will for your life

Principles for Knowing God's Will for your life.

Written out between July 9-15, 2018 by Andrew Willis

Note that I use some terms below that you may not fully understand. If you suspect that you are missing some understanding please talk over this with a knowledgeable mature Christian. (See further comments at the end.)

1. God's promises
   1. God promises us that we will know his will. That he will direct our paths. (Proverbs 4:6 & 7). Implicit in this verse is that you need to be following God closely to be directed.
   2. James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” God promises us wisdom if we ask.
2. Ways we hear from God to know God's will
   1. From God's word in the Bible
      1. God often speaks to us from his word the Bible. However, if you are not reading it and studying it regularly you will not hear this direction.
      2. Attending Church services where the Bible is taught will help. However, most growing Christians will get to a point where they have heard all the basics being preached at church. Further serious growth of understanding will likely require you to study on your own. A common exception would be if your church consistently skipped teaching what the Bible says about a topic like the Holy Spirit. You would have a sudden spurt of spiritual growth and understanding of God's will for your life if you start attending a different church that teaches what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit.
      3. God's general will for us is there for us to read in the Bible anytime we want to. You will spend your whole life working on understanding and obeying what is already written. What we normally want to know is God's Specific Will for our life to help us sort through all our possible life directions. Start acting on what you already know to do.
   2. Hearing God directly
      1. Prayer/listening - God speaks to us directly when we are in prayer or listening. If you are not pausing to listen to God you will not hear his prompting voice putting ideas, revelation, and thoughts into your mind.
         • If Satan attacks you during these times then tell him to “back off” in Jesus name! A typical obvious example of this would be some “extreme crazy thoughts” coming to your mind of murder or rape.
         • Some “entertainment” may end up being a distraction for us. For example you may end up not being able to stop thinking about last night's movie, TV show, book, etc. If an entertainment is interfering with you hearing God's voice then you should consider dropping it from your life.
         • I challenge you to spend some extended time praying and see if you can get past 15 minutes without feeling the need to grab a pen or sit down at your computer to write out what God is telling you.
         • Speaking in Tongues is a helpful way to extend your prayer time to my previous 15-minute challenge when you don't know what more to pray. 1 Corinthians 14: 4 & 5 says “The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself … Now I want you all to speak in tongues”. All Christians are able to speak in “tongues”.
      2. Visions – A vision happens when you are awake and see some sort of image or scene. An example is the Apostle John from Acts 10:9-17. He was praying and saw a vision or trance of many unclean animals. God told him to Kill and eat. John was unsure of what this meant but figured it out in the following days as the passage goes onto explain.
      3. Dreams - God still speaks to us in dreams when we are asleep. They are normally hard to understand and are similar to a “word of knowledge” or Vision in that you may just need to write it down and pray for the meaning. If a dream seems to be “out in left field” then let it lay. A dream normally only confirms what God is telling you using other means. A dream may prompt you to investigate a new line of thinking. If you want a God-given dream then you should pray before going to sleep and ask for one. Placing a pen and notebook next to your bed is a good step of faith to take. Acts 16:9 is a good example of a dream directing Paul to “come over to Macedonia”. This is also called a vision in this text but we would categorize it as a dream since the text further says it was received during the night.
   3. From Others
      1. You are not alone! Please talk to other mature Christians to discuss God's will for your life and request prayer.
      2. A “word of knowledge” can confirm God's direction in your life. If a word of knowledge seems to be “out in left field” then let it lay. Write down what people speak to you as it may be relevant at a later time. Sometimes a “word of knowledge” is only understandable afterword. An example of a word of Knowledge is shown in Acts 13:2 where while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Note that it does not explicitly say how they perceived this. It could have been an audible voice speaking to all at the same time. More likely it was a strong impression of what God was saying which is what we call a “word of knowledge”.
      3. God can speak to us through other people in ordinary conversation or advice. This is similar to a word of knowledge in that you will need to sort through what people say to you. You may get advice to pursue a high paying job which might be God's direction but also might be worldly advice. Consider the nature of the person giving the advice. If they are Godly it is more likely that they will give you Godly advice. However, your unsaved uncle could still give you good advice.
      4. Reading or listening to Christian books, videos, podcasts, sermons, etc can be used by God to give you direction.
3. Characteristics of God's Direction
   1. God's ultimate purposes in our life include our spiritual growth.
      1. If you are not continuously growing you are most likely missing some part of God's direction for your life.
      2. God chooses to use people who are dependent on him. If you can do the task all by yourself you won't need God and you are most likely missing God's direction in your life moving you back to where you are dependent upon him.
      3. Seeking God's will for your life can't be separated from seeking God to know him better.
   2. Knowing Gods direction brings peace.
      1. If you are feeling anxious then you may need to wait some more before acting.
      2. Or you may need to consider if your current path is from God.
      3. It could also be that your direction is right but you have strayed from depending on God to depending upon yourself which would cause anxiety.
   3. God's direction will not be to violate Biblical truths. For example, he will not direct us to hate someone.
   4. Normally God will give you the next step and will not lay out your whole life. An example of this is the apostle Paul in Acts 16:9 who was directed in a dream to go to Macedonia as the next step on his missionary journey.
   5. You will have more than just one indication from God of a major direction change for your life. A minor example of this is that I had been daydreaming (vision) during a church service and thinking of a message that needed to be shared with others. Then after the service, the speaker found me and said that God told him that I am to share the message that God has given me. So I had both God speaking to me directly in a vision and a word of knowledge confirming.
   6. If you make a mistake God will still use and direct you! He will direct you from wherever you are at.
   7. God may not be calling you to some high profile, exciting direction in a distant state or country. If you are looking for something exciting you may be missing God's direction.
   8. If you feel a call of God to ministry, the call needs to be so strong that “you can't do anything else”. Otherwise when things get hard, and they will, you may question your calling.
4. Temptations - What people want is an easy 1, 2, 3, step way of determining God's will. People want someone to tell them what to do. Christians may seek out a prophet as a shortcut way of determining God's will. There is nothing wrong with prophecy but what God wants is a growing relationship with you! Knowing God's will flows out of that relationship. There are no shortcuts!
5. You are not alone! Seek out a mature Christian's help in knowing God's will for your life. Here are some suggestions on how to find help.
   1. First, you need to be attending a church that believes the Bible is true. So I would currently direct you to a Charismatic or Pentecostal church like the Assembly of God denomination.
   2. Ask the church pastor or minister for advice on who would be a good person to talk to and pray with. They will likely be able to quickly think through the members of their church and pick out a mature older christian who has likely made lots of mistakes in seeking God's will. That person can advise you on what not to do or do to avoid errors that either they have made or that they have seen others make.