Knowing and discerning the will of God

Transcription

1 Knowing and discerning the will of God Jericho Walls International Prayer Network This is a simple way to pray about the will of God in any situation. It is not a method or strategy of prayer, since we live in a personal relation with the living God, and our prayers come from that relationship. As you apply these principles to different situations, it will help you come into a place where you will more easily discern God's will. It is important to understand that we need to live by this spiritual habit day by day. It is not something you do once and then you know the will of God. It is accompanied with much patience, perseverance, faith and to a place where we believe and trust God, again and again. 1. Start with worship and surrender your life to God. 2. Confess any sins the Holy Spirit may show you. Be specific. Do it daily. We often immediately want to pray about a specific situation or pressing issue, but our hearts are not clean, and we are not in right standing with God. Sometimes we may have negative emotions towards the specific people or situation about which we are seeking God's will. The question though, is never how much the other person is at fault. Your responsibility is to just confess your part. God will deal with the other person. (Sometimes we may not be guilty at all, but the way we came across, may have hurt or offended the other person.) 3. Be still before God. Listen. Write down what you hear. Spend enough time in God's presence. Test what you hear from the Word. If you hear something, if you had some impressions, make sure it is from the Lord. In some cases, it is good to wait for a day or longer before making a decision. Do not move forward unless you are very sure you know it is God speaking to you. Get a notebook and write down the issue that you

2 are praying about. Take some notes of what you hear God is saying. As you will do it day by day, God will reveal his will to you. Sometimes it is immediately (during you time of prayer), sometimes it can take days, weeks or months. 4. Be obedient when you are sure you know what God said. 5. Ask God daily to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Make it a daily prayer. (Eph.5:18) Voice of Satan vs. Voice of the Holy Spirit: We often wonder who is speaking to us. Is it Satan or is it God? The following guidelines will help you discern between the voice of God and the voice of Satan. Satan manipulates, the Holy Spirit motivates. Satan intimidates, the Holy Spirit inspires. Satan dominates, the Holy Spirit directs. Satan forces us, the Holy Spirit seeks our co-operation and obedience. The voice of Satan is harsh and forces us to do something. It is as if this voice comes from outside. The voice of the Holy Spirit on the contrary, is a soft, inner voice. Satan accuses, forces and discourages us. The Holy Spirit invites and encourages. When Satan speaks there is always an element of haste. The Holy Spirit is never in a hurry. He always gives us enough time to consider to discern before we decide. Satan accuses and condemns. The Holy Spirit convicts. When Satan speaks there is "no forgiveness or hope". There is usually no way out of the situation, except to sin even more and become further ensnared. The situation then becomes totally hopeless. When the

3 Holy Spirit speaks to us, there is always a way out, forgiveness of sin, hope and liberation. There is also hope for the future. One of the basic problems in seeking the will of God, is the sometimes subconscious doubt we have; whether the will of God is really going to be the best for us. Satan often tries to portray God as a spoil-sport. Sometimes things happen that are hard for us to understand. This doubt causes us to question whether we can really trust God with our money, future, life, etc. That is something we can and must believe with all our heart. God has a good plan for our lives and that will never change, and He will never act unfairly or in ways which is not in line with His nature. The Holy Spirit is holy. That is His character. He is the Spirit of holiness (Romans 1:4), the Spirit of wisdom (Isaiah 11:2), the Spirit of truth (John 14:17), the Spirit of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2), the Spirit that judges and consumes (Isaiah 4:4), and the Spirit of self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7). The actions or behaviour of people that are typified by the following; cannot be ascribed to the Holy Spirit: self-exaltation, vulgarity, insensitivity towards others, stupid or dumb actions, degrading/destructive words or behaviour, cruel or brutal deeds and an arrogant attitude or childish actions. No animal behaviour can be attributed to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not cause people to crawl on the ground and hiss like snakes, crow like roosters, bark like dogs, roar like lions and cry like wolves and foxes, burp and puke. That is usually a manifestation of evil because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Basic guidelines to keep in mind when you try to discern God's will for your life

4 1. Salvation. It is the will of God that people should be saved. Unsaved people often seek the will of God for various matters and find no answer. The salvation of a person is more important to God than finding his will for specific situations. Thus we must get right with God first before asking anything else. The very first question is: Am I saved? "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness. He is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). This does not mean that God will never answer an unsaved person. But God's answers will always lead us to salvation and to be reconciled with him. 2. Your sanctification is the will of God. In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 it says: "It is God's will that you should be sanctified." Anything that prevents you from living a holy life or that hinders your dedication to God, is not God's will. Any decision you take that will adversely affect your sanctification, is not the will of God, and will make it difficult to hear God's voice. 3. Confess and repent of conscious unconfessed sin and seek God's will with a pure heart. God hates sin. He has made provision for us to be cleansed from our sin, because that is His desire for us. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. 4. The Word of God. The Holy Spirit will never lead you contrary to the truths of God's Word. Secondly, read the Word, saturate yourself with the Word. As we saturate ourselves with the Word, the Holy Spirit can remind us about Scriptures and can give us guidance from the Word. 5. To be willing to submit yourself to God's guidance, is a basic prerequisite. There is no point in asking what God's will is, if you are not prepared to do it. Do you really desire to do God's will with your whole heart? (Matthew 6:33; John 4:34). Choose with your will to do God's will.

5 Pray and say to the Lord: "Father with my will I choose to do Your will." "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33). "My food" said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." (John 4:34). 6. Be neutral. It is important to stand on neutral ground when you are searching for the will of the Lord. This means that you will have to come to the point where you can tell the Lord that you are prepared to do His will, whatever that may be. You must forsake your own preferences and objections in the matter, and be as neutral as humanly possible. 7. Live in close fellowship with God. It is normally relatively easy to know the will of the Lord when you live close to Him. 8. Be dedicated to Him. (Romans 12:1-2): "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." 9. Intimacy with God. If we want to know what the will of the Lord is, it is important to live in the correct relationship with God and according to clear and basic Biblical principles. We must uphold the basic truths of Scripture and reason accordingly. In doing this we will find that we will start to grow in intimacy with God. Make a study of God Himself: His names and character. As you start to understand His names and character, you will automatically grow into a deeper relationship with Him. 10. Persevere in prayer. It means to take the matter continuously in prayer to God. Isaiah 28:16 says: "...the one who trust will never be dismayed." God has His own time schedule. Don't try to move faster than God. God knows exactly when to make his will known to you. Trust Him. While waiting upon the Lord to answer you, you must search your

6 heart to ensure that your priorities are right. You need to determine from your heart, which is more important, to know God's will, or to get the things you want from Him. God sometimes allows a delay in answering us in order to test our hearts for us to see what is really in our hearts and also to spiritually prepare us for His answer when it comes. To wait for God's answer to come, does not mean to do nothing. You must be active in these: consider, search, listen, evaluate and study the Scripture. This all form part of waiting for the Lord's answer to come. 11. Complete trust. Proverbs 3:5-6 says: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." James 1:6-8 says the following about a person who prays, but doubts in his heart: "That man (who doubts) should not think he will receive anything from the Lord." Pray with the assurance in your heart that the Lord knows exactly what you need, and that He will reveal it to you at the right time. 12. Always act with the light and knowledge you have. We sometimes want to know in detail what the will of the Lord is before we do anything. Too often we can go ahead or proceed without knowing exactly what the Lord's ultimate objective is, or before God had time to reveal the whole picture to us. God often takes us step-by-step. Sometimes you will only know the next step. Take that step. Then continue step-by-step. 13. Give your yokes and burdens to Jesus. Take a look at Matthew 11:28-30 on what Jesus said: "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." To take His yoke upon you is: 1) to learn from close contact with Him; (b) to follow and obey him; c) to make sure you are not moving faster or slower than Him. 14. Consider the circumstances. It is important to always get a spiritual perspective on all things that come your way. Remember that Satan tries

7 to prevent us from doing God's will by placing obstacles in our way. "For we wanted to come to you - certainly I, Paul did, again and again - but Satan stopped us." (1 Thessalonians 2:18). 15. The wisdom of counsellors. Share the matter with other people who are spiritually mature and whose counsel you trust. You will often find confirmation and guidance in their advice. "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice." (Proverbs 12:15). "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisors make victory sure." (Proverbs 11:14). "For waging war you need guidance and for victory many advisers." (Proverbs 24:6). Do not sway to popular counsel, still test all counsel with the Word of God. It is wise, especially when the decision will have far reaching consequences, to share it with someone who will stand with you in faith before the Lord until God's will has become clear. 16. Ways in which others were guided in the past. Study Scripture, church history, the lives of Christian leaders and read missionary biographies. Take note of how the Holy Spirit taught them to discern His will. 17. Put out a fleece. When it is hard to discern between personal feelings and confirmation of the Holy Spirit, ask God to do something outside of yourself as an indication of His will. See Judges 6:37-39 in connection with Gideon's fleece. However, don't allow signs alone to direct to you. The Lord uses this way of guidance, but mostly in exceptional situations. The Holy Spirit must guide you clearly when you ask for such a sign from the Lord, otherwise it can happen that you will try to manipulate the Lord to answer you. 18. Draw up a balance sheet. It helps to write down the pros and cons concerning a decision. It often happens that the answer becomes clear when you write these down. 19. Be obedient to spiritual principles. In some situations, guidance is not even necessary, because the matter can be handled according to

8 Biblical guidelines. Matthew 5:27-28 is a clear example: "Do not commit adultery." You do not need supernatural guidance about this one. Scripture is so clear about many things that we do not have to look for the will of the Lord for those matters. It is already clearly stated in the Bible. 20. The gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit that work in you can also be an indication of the work the Lord wants to do through you. "If a man's gift is prophesying...if it is serving...if it is teaching...if it is encouraging...if it is contributing to the needs of others...if it is leadership...if it is showing mercy..." (Romans 12:6-10). "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." (1 Corinthians11:7-11). 21. Guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit confirms what God wants you to do by means of an internal assurance. 'Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts..." (Colossians 3:15). Sometimes though, we can mistake a release of stress for God's peace. Be wise to discern the difference. 22. Beware of the flesh. Beware of decisions that are only based on abundance, convenience and human desires and passions of your heart. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:24-25). Today we have a gospel being preached (i.e. the prosperity gospel), that make people selfish. They only ask for what they want, and expect God to give it to them. This conduct does not display coherence with the most basic commands in Scripture. The

9 focus is more towards gaining more success, healing and prosperity than for God to be glorified. 23. Embrace the cross. (1 Peter 3:17). The easy or obvious way is not always the right way. The difficult, more challenging way is often the correct way. God's ways are not our ways. Don't back away from humiliation and suffering, but also beware of unnecessary selfchastisement or abstinence from certain things. There is no spiritual law that says that a Christian must suffer, but rather, deny himself. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24). 24. Beware of counterfeits. Satan has deceiving spirits. "The Spirit clearly says that in the end times, some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (1 Timothy 4:1). Christians can be deceived. It is therefore important that we need to ask the Spirit of wisdom and revelation of knowledge. Isaiah 11: The world can mislead. When the Bible refers to "the world," it is more concerned about the system of and spirit at work in the world than the world as a physical place. Beware that your decision is not influenced by your own desires, position, security, promotion, a career, or family pressure. (1 John 2:15-17; Luke 14:26). "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26-27). "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world." (1 John 2:15-17). 26. Be aware of rational thinking. We must use logic and be realistic. We must however remember that logic and reason alone will very seldom

10 help you to come to the full understanding of God's will. Proverbs 3:5 says: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." God gave us an intellect to use, but our thoughts must still be submitted to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the authority and truths of the Word. Be careful: Good is often the enemy of the best. Be aware of being side-tracked to focus on less important goals. Meeting felt needs around us is not necessarily an indication of our calling. We need to pray and ask the Lord to show us the place and time where we need to work. 27. Dreams, visions and prophesies. In some cases, God uses dreams and visions to reveal His will to us. Like everything else, it is important that we will test the dreams and prophetic words. Don't just accept them. Be careful when you have a dream that is not very clear. It is wise to pray and also ask others for their interpretation of the dream. Do not immediately act on dreams, visions and prophetic words. Wait till is clear what it is God is saying to you. 28. Obedience. It happens quite often that people hear the voice of God and then are unwilling to do what He says. You may find God become silent in guiding you until you have done what He clearly showed you before. 29. Resist fear. "Perfect love drives out fear." (1 John.4:18). Having God as a loving heavenly Father, ensures that we will experience ultimate fulfilment when we submit to His will. We must dread being outside His perfect will. Resist any fear and unbelief that causes you to be hesitant to do God's will. 30. Weakness does not disqualify. Sometimes Christians rebel against God's will because they feel weak and unqualified to do that which He has called them for. If God has called you, He will equip you to do what

11 He has called you to do. "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13). "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" (2 Corinthians 12:9). 31. Walk in faith. Be prepared to walk in faith. If you know God has spoken, then the only way is forward. "...but the righteous will live by his faith..." (Habakkuk 2:4). Deal with sin in your life The following are some of things that will hinder our prayers and influence our relationship with God. Unconfessed sin - Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2). Idolatry, occult involvement These men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them enquire of me at all? (Ezekiel 14:3). Stinginess, greed, the love of money If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. (Proverbs 21:13). The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith. (1 Timothy 6:10). Unbelief and doubt When he comes, he will convict the world in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me. (John 16:9). But when he asks [prays], he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. (James 1:6-8). Refusing to forgive and bitterness If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15).

12 Wrong behaviour towards your spouse Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. (1 Peter 3:7). Pride God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6). Selfish motives when we pray When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:3). A critical spirit Do not judge, or you too will be judged. (Matthew 7:1). You then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God s judgment seat. (Romans 14:10). Ungratefulness Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Failing to make restitution (if you don t right past wrongs) When he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering. (Leviticus 6:4-5). Love of the world and worldliness Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15). Neglecting to pray in Jesus Name You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John.14:14). When you don t pray according to the will of God This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (1 John 5:14). Negative emotions and attitudes. The following attitudes are devastating when you desire to hear the voice of God and to know His

13 will: greed and anger, bitterness and unforgiveness, self-pity, jealousy and envy, fear, rejection and feelings of inferiority. All of us struggle with at least some of these emotions, if not with all of them. They are great hindrances when we start to listen to God's voice. We will have to deal with them otherwise we will not be able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.