To discern God’s will, we begin with the conviction that God’s central “calling” for all believers is to become progressively transformed into the perfect “image of God,” who is Jesus, and this happens as we grow in the “four directions of agape-love” – that is, loving God, others, self and creation. In this sense, God is far more concerned with who I am becoming as an agape-person, than he is with what particular decisions I make about a particular spouse, or job, or ministry, etc.
However, because Jesus is our wise and all-knowing “head” and we are his body, he does have plans and strategies for how his body can most effectively manifest the Kingdom in this world. So in that sense, God can have a very specific direction for each of us as we seek his particular will for our lives. Now, at some points, he may simply say to us: “There are several options you could choose, all of them good ones, so it’s up to you – which do you want to do?” Other times, given God’s strategies in the world, God can give us a very specific direction with little sense of wiggle room!
Then, of course, there is the age-old question that Christians have always discussed and debated: HOW can we discern God’s voice and will for us? On one hand, there are no “formulas” for how to hear God’s voice and calling. Rather, God uses our own personality type and wiring to develop ways in which to communicate with us. On the other hand, there are several patterns and principles that we see God using through history:
- The “Still Small Voice” – an inner sense of leading as we submit the issue to God in prayer. Usually, this means spending time alone with God where we are not talking, but simply listening with an open heart, asking him for his thoughts and desires for us.
- Prophetic Words – this happens if we, or someone else in the body, gets a direct prophetic word for us about something.
- Wise Counsel from the Christian Community – bringing the issue we are wrestling with to others whom we trust and asking them to pray/discern with us how God would want to lead us in a certain area, etc. Communal discernment helps keep us from doing “lone ranger” Christianity, and just putting God’s name on whatever we happen to want to do as an individual.
- The Confirmation Process – whether God speaks to us through the still small voice, a prophetic word or the collective wisdom of others, it is important to then submit this to a confirmation process; i.e., does this align with basic biblical principles of the Christian life, and does the Kingdom community that I am part of confirm that this is what God is saying to me?
Recommended Resources
- Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard
- The Church Who Hears God’s Voice: Equipping Everyone to Recognize and Respond to the Spirit by Tania Harris
- Is That Really You, God? Hearing the Voice of God by Loren Cunningham
