How many times have you wondered, ‘What is God’s will for me?’ or ‘How can I find God’s will in this matter?’ I think we all at some point in time come to a place where we want to know if we are doing God’s will or following God’s plan for our lives. It might be because we want to please Him, or it might be out of fear. Whatever our motive is, anyone who loves God at some point wants to know His will.
Yet so many of us struggle with how we can know God’s will. It seems like a mystery to us humans who have known way of knowing the mind of God. Or do we? The Bible makes it very clear to us how to determine exactly what God’s will for our lives are.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
God’s will for our lives is written out in the most basic form here. We are to rejoice, pray, and be thankful. It sounds too easy doesn’t it? How can it truly be that easy to know God’s will? God does not want to trick us or for us to walk in confusion. He loves us and He wants to help us. As we partner with Him in these simple steps, it is going to build our faith and bring us closer to our Father in wonderful ways!
Let’s take these simple steps and break them down, so we can further understand what God’s will is for us.
Step 1: Rejoice
Rejoice Definition: to be glad; take delight
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Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4
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Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
When we rejoice in the Lord, we are living out of a place of who we are in Christ. We are being who God intended and created us to be. When we delight in Him, He gives us the desires of our heart. Instead of worrying about what decision to make, or if we are following God’s will, we simply need to rejoice in Him, and delight ourselves in Him. When we do this we are following Him in love and trusting Him with the desires of our heart.
Step 2: Pray
To Pray Definition: to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to God
to address God with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving
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do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
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Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. Jeremiah 29:12
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Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually! 1 Chronicles 16:11
Prayer is our way of communicating with God. It is how we talk to Him, ask Him for things, praise Him, thank Him, or just complain and moan to Him. We are to be in constant communion with our Father. Prayer is not an act we do when we are desperate or once a week in church. It is to be a lifestyle of bringing every thought and feeling to our Father. He wants to share in our lives with us, and to help us and guide us. All we have to do is change our inner thought world towards Him, directing it all to our loving Father.
Once we being to move into prayer as a way of life instead of an event, we can revolutionize our relationship with God. We will begin to hear from Him as we listen for counsel, and see how He responds in this new way of relationship with Him. If a son asks his father for a fish, the father would not give him a snake instead. So how much more is our Heavenly Father’s desire to give to us in this child/Father relationship?
When you don’t have words, pray in the spirit. Praying in the spirit is a way for our spirit to connect with spirit and bypass our human confines. Sometimes we are in such distress or confusion we do not know what words to use. Yet our spirit knows, and as it connects with the Holy Spirit, our prayers are used as powerfully as if we used our own language.
praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. Ephesians 6:18
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Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Romans 8:26
Step 3: Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Definition: a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness
the act of giving thanks
a prayer expressing gratitude
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Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:2-5
Giving thanks is something we often take for granted. We often feel we deserve all we have and all we desire. We base our lives on our feelings of being capable and relying on our own strength. So we easily forget that God is our provider and without Him we truly have nothing. From things like the clothes on our back to the air we breathe, we rely on God for every aspect of life. Yet we often do not give Him the thanksgiving He deserves, and instead reserve thanks to times occasional moments instead.
We do not deserve any one thing in this life. We are here out of pure love of the Father for a relationship with Him. Yet He gives us everything we need and then some. However we so often turn our backs on God, or even blame Him, when things go wrong in our lives. Being thankful does not mean being thankful for the bad things that happen in life. We don’t need to rejoice in evil or suffering. What we do need to do is give thanksgiving to God in spite of the circumstances life brings us.
The devil wants us to fall down in our trials and turn against our Creator. He wants us to be resentful, selfish and hateful. Those are all qualities that go directly against who God is and who He created us to be. When we defy our fleshly nature and instead live by rejoicing in the Lord and being thankful for Him in everything that happens, we are indeed a new creation. We are living a life with a closeness to our Creator, full of love and trust. We are enriched by His presence and understanding in every aspect our of lives.
We were not meant to live a life of despair or suffering. We were meant to live joyfully. Joy is something lasting, that comes from the love of God in our hearts. When we give all things over to God, we see how He provides for us. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Following Jesus means a new way of living, knowing that we can easily be in God’s will, and waiting on Him to work all things for our good. It does not matter what evil the devil does or what schemes of man come against us. All we need to do is focus on following God’s will: Rejoice in Him, pray ceaselessly, and give thanks no matter what. Let God do the rest, and relax. He is a good Father, and there is nothing that can separate us from His love.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7
