Wheels

How to Discover God's Will

What does God want you to do with your life? Maybe you have an idea of what He is calling you to, but you’d like confirmation. Maybe you’re not sure what God’s will is … or maybe, you’re still trying to figure out what a personal relationship with God should look like.

Ultimately, the only way to know God’s will is by spending time getting to know Him. It’s through drawing near to God that His guidance becomes evident. So, how do we do that?

There isn’t one correct way—but there are steps we can take that help.

Here are 4 steps to help you discover God’s will:

Seek God through Prayer

Think about a recent conversation with a close friend. If you’ve known them for a while, you probably know what they like and dislike without asking because the closer you are to someone, the more you understand them.

The same goes for our relationship with God. Knowing God’s will comes from having honest conversations with Him. That’s why we need to get into the habit of talking to Him regularly, about everything.

Prayer isn’t just about asking God what He wants us to do—it’s about getting to know who God is.

Search the Scriptures

God’s will for your life will never contradict what is written in Scripture. So as you get to know God through prayer, familiarize yourself with His Word. 

The more you study the bible, the more your desires will begin to reflect God’s will. And when this happens, you can confidently ask God anything - and He will hear you.

Listen to the Holy Spirit 

Listening for the Holy Spirit often requires silencing the noise around you. When you get rid of distractions and stop fixating on fearful feelings, you can start to notice God’s peaceful presence in your present circumstances.

So as you pray and search the Scriptures, ask God to reveal any feelings you need to surrender, and any others you need to give special attention. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you through this process, and keep this in mind: you can feel uncertain and still experience God’s peace.

Look for confirmation from wise people

The final say on what God’s will is should come from God, but it’s wise to seek trusted, outside advice. Consider inviting several people who are further ahead in their faith journey to be your “wise counsel.” Ask them to seek God’s will for your life with you. 

This step must be done alongside the previous ones. Seeking wise advice should confirm what you sense God is already telling you to do—it should not take the place of talking directly to God.

Now what?

You may not always get it right, but the more you try to understand God’s will, the easier it becomes. God created you on purpose, and He wants you to be involved in seeing His Kingdom come “on earth as it is in heaven.”

When your desires align with God’s desires, He can trust you to do what is right. Applying these steps will help you do that, but this will be a lifelong commitment that involves seeking God every day.