How to know God’s will
May 18
I am going to be preaching in three weeks time again and I believe that God wants me to share some teaching on understanding and finding the will of God. I think many Christians must understand the will of God and sometimes we are paralysed and do nothing in that case we must God’s perfect timing. My personal belief is that God wants us rather to try to make an effort to get up off our behinds and to do something rather than to do nothing.
I do not mean that God’s timing is not important, and if you read yesterday’s blog you will know that timing is everything. But we cannot hide behind God’s will. So in my preparation and in my research I came across a piece of writing which I have quoted here below from a chap by the name of George Muller. So this is not my own list of points that I think it is incredibly useful, and this is how George goes about trying to discover whether what he wants to do is in the will of God. I hope you enjoy it.
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I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are over come when our hearts are ready to do the Lord’s will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.
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Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.
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I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.
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Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God’s Will in connection with His Word and Spirit.
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I ask God in prayer to reveal His Will to me aright.
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Thus, through prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.