How To Know The Will Of God

Does God still speak to man today? Is He interested in what happens to us as individuals?

Does He indeed have a master plan for our lives?

If so, how do I discover it?

How do I hear His voice?

How do I know the will of God?

We all need guidance in life concerning the great questions of life; Who should I marry?

Should I make a certain move?

How does God want me to Serve Him with my life? These are all important questions and the answer to the first question is YES!

God does indeed speak to us today.

We as Christians are not "victims of chance" hoping our "luck" will be good or not run out.

As God led men and women in Scripture, He wants to LEAD US.

I wish I could give you an easy "1-2-3" method I had learned on knowing the will of God in every situation.

But in my walk with Jesus Christ of some 36 years I have found that the will of God happened more as I took steps of faith trying the best of my ability to live by the principles of Scripture into practice.

There have been those times when He has clearly spoken to me in a rather tangible way but most of the time it has been a "journey of faith."

Scripture reminds us that "The just shall live BY FAITH.” I very rarely say “God told me to DO this or SAY that.”

Instead I read Scripture and pray for guidance and make decisions. That’s because God’s will is not an INTENIERY but an ATTITUDE.

Yet clearly God does indeed guide, He DOES SPEAK, and we will briefly examine some of these principles of guidance.

God does not play hide-and-seek.

He wants to lead you even more then you want to be led. God is more concerned about keeping us in His will than we are to be kept in it!

I have found that there are concrete, practical steps that I can take to cause God’s will to be more easily known to me.

God’s way becomes plain when we start WALKING IN IT.

Just as God said of Abraham, "Shall I HIDE from Abraham the thing I am about to do?”

He WANTS to reveal His purposes to us: For Abraham was called “friend of God” and we have that privilege too.

John 15:15 ”I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

Friends share Secrets with Friends. They Confide in them. “The Secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.”

Let’s now look at some steps we can take to "Prepare the ground" to Hear the Voice of God and Know His Will.

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

V.1” I beseech you THEREFORE. . . “

Whenever there is a “Therefore” find out what it’s there for!

Paul is saying,”therefore” or “In light of what has been said in the previous 11 chapters of Romans.

The truth of Romans 12:1-2 is the sum of 11 chapters of teaching.

It is not an arbitrary thought pulled out of the air.

V.1 ”I beseech you THEREFORE: That though we are hopelessly condemned by our sin God in His mercy has forgiven, justified and adopted us.”

Not only that but there is no condemnation and under no circumstances will I ever be separated from the love of God.

"To whom much is given, much is required"

In light of all of this here is what you should do- V.1 “I beseech you to PRESENT YOURSELVES TO GOD . . .”

Dedication to God is the natural response of the Christian who realizes all that God has done for him.

The Psalmist demonstrated the proper response when he wrote, "What shall I give unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?"

It is not "What shall I give that I may OBTAIN those benefits," but rather "What shall I give because I have RECEIVED those benefits?"

So, here we find that duty follows doctrine; responsibility follows revelation and practice follows principle.

In other words what WE BELIEVE helps to determine how WE BEHAVE. It’s not enough for us to understand intellectually the great truths and doctrines that Paul has laid out for us here in Romans. We must translate our Learning into Living.