Knowing God’s Will

How many times have you whispered to God? “Please, Father, show me your perfect will for my life.” I’ll bet you have earnestly prayed that prayer – I know I have. But what makes us so bold? Is it our pious lifestyles? Yeah, right! Well, then…why do we think we are ready to follow His will even more specifically than what the Bible already tells us?

Don’t we have to be obedient to His word first? You might think that literally living out our lives as He would have us do is an impossibly tall order – And you’d be right. But, is it possible? Jesus did it. The Holy Spirit is always available to help us. Still...who among us can imitate all that Jesus taught? (Just think of His sermon on the mount, or His capacity to forgive!)

Our obedience is the first order of business. God isn’t going to reveal His plan for us while there are still things clinging to our sin nature that knowingly violate His authority over our choices. You are probably as aware as I am that you’re not doing everything according to His Word… things we know aren’t in His will.

Listen, I’m not throwing any stones here - It’s just that we sometimes don’t think through what we are asking God in prayer. Why would God show us more if there’s disobedience in our lives? He wants us to get the basics right first. Do you ever tell any half-truths? We like to call our lying something else so we can feel better about our less than honest remarks. Do you ever get inappropriately angry? I know I have to count to ten more often then I’d like to admit. And then there are all the times my anger gets the best of me and I just say or do the wrong thing. How about you?

I think that we must take the first step of asking God to help us actually do what His Word tells us. We need to admit our need and lean completely on Him. He will gradually mold and make us better, as He helps us discover His will and empowers us to actually do God’s will…“on earth as it is in heaven.”

May God’s peace and joy enfold you throughout your journey!