Question:

How does one find out the will of God if you have asked Him already for guidance and still don’t know what to do?

Answer:

There are many factors that go into learning the will of God.  Of course, God’s will is revealed primarily through the Scriptures.  The entire Bible is filled with the revelation of God’s will for His people.  But what about those decisions that we have to make for which Scripture has no specific advice (such as what kind of car to buy, how much money to spend on a car or house, whom to marry, whether to go to college, etc.)?  First of all, it is clear from Scripture that God wants us to “be filled with the [full] knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9; also Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:17; Colossians 4:12; Hebrews 13:21).  It is also clear that God has a specific will for each of His children (Genesis 24:14-27; Joshua 6:3-5; 7:3,4; 2 Samuel 5:17-25; Matthew 4:1-4; John 11:3-7; Acts 8:26-38; 16:6-10).  The Bible gives us criteria for knowing God’s will, such as not being conformed to the world (Romans 12:2), walking circumspectly (Ephesians 5:15-18), not allowing sin in our lives (Psalm 66:18), fearing the Lord (Proverbs 9:10), being emptied of our will and wanting to know His will (Psalm 40:8; Matthew 6:22; Luke 22:42; John 5:30; James 1:5-8), and faithful in carrying out that which God has already revealed in His Word to be His will (John 7:17).

Sometimes it can be helpful to ask the counsel of others.  “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14).  A wise counselor may discern that you are asking God the wrong question.  Maybe you are trying to decide between purchasing a new SUV or a new pickup truck, whereas God’s will is that you buy a relatively inexpensive, used subcompact and save your money for making a down payment on a house once you are married.

If you are not making much headway in discerning God’s will for your life, it may be that you are not faithfully doing what you already know to be His will for you.  Or maybe you are not making a habit of seeking God’s will for you on a daily basis.  Do you seek to know God’s will before turning on the TV or watching a video or surfing the Internet?  Do you seek to know God’s will before deciding you are too tired or have too much homework to go to prayer meeting and Bible study tonight?

If you think you have satisfied all of the criteria given above, then just keep praying, turn off the music, quiet your soul and spirit before the Lord, commune with the Lord, be patient, and He will in one way or another show you His will and way.  “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matthew 6:22).