1. How can I know the will of God?
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)
“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:3)
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:” (1 John 5:14)
Answer: By asking Him. Ask the Lord plainly and in faith. Be willing to submit your will, your plans, and your desires to His will. If you’re willing to do His will, you will know His will.
Further Reading: John 7:17
2. How does the Lord reveal His will to us?
Answer: The Lord reveals His will to men in several ways.
a. His Word
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalms 119:105)
“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
(Psalms 119:130)
The Lord always leads His people to His Word when giving them direction. The Scriptures are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).
Further Reading: Psalms 119
b. His providential workings, if we are walking in His ways.
“And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.” (Genesis 22:12,13)
“And he [Abraham] said unto me [Abraham’s servant], The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:” (Genesis 24:40)
It was because of Abraham’s faithful obedience to God that He providentially provided a substitute sacrifice for Isaac and later, a wife for him (Isaac).
Further Reading: Genesis 24:42-48, 26:1-5
c. The Holy Spirit.
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:36-38)
“Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.” (Acts 8:29-31)
The Holy Spirit will make impressions upon our heart which will be wrought out in our character. This requires trust in God, cooperation with Him, and a willingness to be led.
The Jews in early church times were pricked in their hearts by the Holy Spirit after they learned how they unknowingly facilitated the death of Jesus. After they were convicted of their sin, they repented and became Christians.
Moreover, God used Philip to convert the Ethiopian eunuch because he was willing to be led. By cooperating with Heaven, the gospel went to Ethiopia.
d. Revelation
“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.” (Acts 16:9,10)
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary…And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:26-27, 30-31)
“And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest…And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” (Acts 9:3-6)
The Lord also reveals His will to us through visions, dreams, angels. Sometimes, He reveals His will to them to them directly! The Adventist Foreign Missions’ Dream Project regularly connects with people of Muslim background who have experienced dreams or visions of Christ.
3. But how can we know if it is the Lord is speaking to us?
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” (1 Tim. 4:1)
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20)
Answer: We must compare what the spirits say to the Bible, the Word of God. If the message is from the Lord, it will not contradict it.
4. What will keep us from hearing the Lord’s response to us?
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Answer: We will not be able to hear the Lord’s answer to our prayers if
we are cherishing iniquity,
our minds are beclouded with evil things,
we will not diligently seek Him, or
we do not believe that God exists.
If we are serious about getting answers from the Lord, we must ask Him to create clean hearts in us, for the pure in heart shall see God. We must search for our answers with all of our heart. When we do, we will find them.
Further Reading: Psalms 51:10; Jeremiah 29:13
5. What do we do when we don’t receive an answer right away?
“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” (Psalms 27:14)
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:35-36)
“Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him… But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.” (Acts 12:5,16-17)
Answer: Wait. Be patient. Keep praying. This is harder than you think but getting an answer from God is worth it.
6. What happens after we receive our answers?
“Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.”(Daniel 2:19)
“…The will of the Lord be done.” (Acts 21:16)
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” (Isaiah 46:9-10)
Answer: The Lord answers our prayers in several ways: yes, no, or wait. When they are, we should express our gratitude to God for blessing us with an answer, even when we receive the ones we don’t want to hear. If we could see the end from the beginning, we would know why He chose to answer in the way He did. Because He can, we should accept His answer and trust that He knows what’s best for us.
When does He reveal His will, then do it.
7. How do we KNOW if it was really God who spoke to us?
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Luke 19:14)
“But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.” (Acts 27:21)
Answer: When we receive the answer we don’t want to hear, we’re often inclined to question it. Our will is struggling for mastery. It is struggling to find some way to achieve our ends. It’s in this time we need to trust God and accept the answer given to us. We can only gain harm and loss when we refuse to heed the counsel of the Lord.
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