My husband Stuart and I have traveled the world over many times in our four decades of ministry. And one of the most common questions people ask us is, How can I find God’s will for my life? You’ve probably asked that question yourself.
What we tell people is that one of the biggest problems about discovering the will of God is our own hearts. Do we really want to know what God wants for us? Even if it’s not what we want?
To genuinely know God’s will, we have to really want to. We have to search for His will and purpose in our lives with all our hearts. And one of His greatest pleasures is for us to follow His guidance to discover His will. If we’re willing, He’ll show the way.
Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” That’s a promise! So, can we know God’s will? Yes! He says, “I will instruct you, so ask Me!”
Of course, to do that… to ask God for guidance… we have to know Him. That sounds very elementary, but it’s crucial. You cannot know the will of God outside of an ongoing relationship with Him, and we do that through Christ. John 1 says we must recognize Jesus for who He is, we must receive Him, and we must relate to Him.
To recognize God in Christ we follow His walk on earth through Scripture and study. Then, we receive Him by His Spirit through prayer, daily and repeatedly! Finally, we relate to Him in our relationship as His child.
You cannot know the will of God outside of an ongoing relationship with Him, and we do that through Christ.
Now what does that mean? Well, the more you live with people, the more you become like them. Children in a close relationship with their parents know what’s wanted from them, almost instinctively. So as werelate in prayer and study and grow in our love for God, we begin to know what HE wants for us and from us just as instinctively.
So the more familiar you become in your relationship with Christ, the more you will know what the will of God is without thinking. And that is one of the chief joys of discovering the will of God for your life.