How Do I Find God's Will?

Start with what is already plain. In a few places the Bible says, in so many words, “this is the will of God.” Those verses are about who you become more than where you go.

Put together, God's will for your life is that you belong to Christ and grow more like Him; that you keep your body and your relationships holy; that you rejoice, pray and give thanks in every situation; and that you treat people with justice and mercy while walking humbly with God. Peter adds that it is God's will “that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:15, KJV), and Jesus summed up the whole law as loving God and loving your neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39).

That changes the question. Instead of asking only “What is God's secret plan for me?” you can ask, “Am I doing the will of God I already know?” That is where guidance begins. Jesus said that anyone willing to do God's will “shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17, KJV): obeying what is clear tends to bring light for what is not.

Christians agree that God is sovereign: “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9, KJV). They also agree that God has made His moral will known in Scripture. Where they differ is on how God guides the many choices Scripture does not address.

Some believe God has a specific choice in mind for each major decision and leads His people to it as they seek Him. They point to the way the Spirit closed doors for Paul and then called him to Macedonia (Acts 16:6-10), and to promises like “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go” (Psalm 32:8, KJV).

Others believe that, within God's moral will, believers are free to choose wisely, and that God's sovereign plan is worked out through those choices. They point out that Paul said a widow is “at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39, KJV): free to choose, within a clear boundary. And the apostles explained a major decision with the words “it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us” (Acts 15:28, KJV).

In practice, both views lead to the same place: obey what God has made clear, seek Him in prayer, listen to wise counsel, and trust that He can direct your steps even through imperfect decisions. Scripture draws the line this way: “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us” (Deuteronomy 29:29, KJV).

For the choices Scripture does not settle, the Bible gives a way of deciding rather than a code to crack. Four things work together.

1. Scripture. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105, KJV). Start by asking what the Bible already says about your situation. Any option that requires disobeying it is not God's will, however open the door looks.

2. Prayer for wisdom. God promises wisdom to anyone who asks, without scolding them for asking.

Notice what is promised: wisdom, not a voice from the sky or a map of the next ten years. God usually answers this prayer by making you wiser, one step at a time.

3. Counsel. Big decisions are not meant to be made alone.

Talk to people who know God, know you and will tell you the truth: a pastor or priest, a mentor, an older friend, your husband or wife, your parents. Ask them what they see that you might be missing.

4. Trust, then act. In the end you will have to decide without seeing everything.

“Lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, KJV) does not mean switching your mind off. Paul says a renewed mind is how we “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2, KJV). It means thinking hard while trusting God more than your own conclusions, and bringing Him into the decision instead of leaving Him out of it.

Christians have practiced this kind of prayerful deciding for centuries. In the Catholic tradition, for example, St. Ignatius of Loyola taught the discernment of spirits, which pays prayerful attention to the inner movements of thought, feeling and desire while you weigh a choice. If you want help finding what Scripture says about your decision, you can ask the Bible Guide in Faithero; it names the verses it draws on. It can get things wrong, so weigh its answers against the Bible and bring big decisions to your pastor.

Christians often speak of God opening and closing doors, and the language comes from Paul. But Paul's own story shows that circumstances have to be read with care.

An open door can come with opposition. “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9, KJV). Difficulty does not prove you are outside God's will.

An open door is not automatically a command. At Troas, Paul wrote, “a door was opened unto me of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 2:12, KJV), yet he had no rest in his spirit and moved on to Macedonia. He weighed the opportunity against other things God had put on his heart.

A closed door can be guidance too. On one journey Paul and his companions were “forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6, KJV). They tried Bithynia instead, “but the Spirit suffered them not” (Acts 16:7, KJV). Only then did Paul see the vision that called him to Macedonia (Acts 16:9-10). A closed door may be God's way of pointing you somewhere better.

An open door can lead the wrong way. When Jonah ran from God, he went down to Joppa and “found a ship going to Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3, KJV). The timing was perfect and the door was wide open, and it led straight away from what God had said.

What about asking for a sign? Gideon laid out a fleece and asked God to confirm His word with dew, twice (Judges 6:36-40), and God was patient with him. But notice how Gideon began: “If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said” (Judges 6:36, KJV). God had already told him what to do. The fleece seems to have been a help for his fear, not a way of finding out what God wanted. Circumstances and signs are worth noticing, but read them alongside Scripture, prayer and counsel, never alone.

Sometimes you pray, read, ask for counsel and think hard, and two options still look equally good. That is not failure. Often it means both are within God's will, and you are free to choose.

Choose, and hold the plan loosely. James tells us to plan with a humble “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:15, KJV). Making plans is fine. Making them as if God were not involved is the problem.

Trust God with your mistakes. You are not powerful enough to ruin God's purposes with one wrong turn. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, KJV). Even after Jonah ran the other way on purpose, “the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time” (Jonah 3:1, KJV).

Let peace have a say, but not the only say. Paul wrote, “let the peace of God rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15, KJV). Many Christians find that a settled peace after prayer helps confirm a decision. Feelings can mislead, though, so peace works best alongside Scripture and counsel, not instead of them.

Do the next faithful thing. While you wait for clarity about the big decision, God's will for today is not hidden: love the people in front of you, do your work well, pray and give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Often the next step becomes clear only after you take this one.

If you would like words for this season, these prayers for guidance may help. For more on how God speaks, read How Can I Hear God's Voice?, and for Scripture on asking God for wisdom, see these Bible verses about wisdom.