How can I know God's will?

What the Bible says

"What is God's will?" usually arises before a large choice such as a career, marriage or move. The Bible begins by separating two things. Moses says:

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

Deut 29:29

What is hidden is his; what is revealed is ours to do. We cannot know all God plans, but we already know a great deal about what he wants from us.

That revealed will is concrete. Paul writes:

For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;

1 Thess 4:3

And elsewhere:

Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thess 5:16-18

Micah adds that God has already shown what is good: to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with him (Mic 6:8). These do not choose a job or a spouse for us, but they are what God wants in any job and any marriage.

For choices that Scripture does not settle, the Bible tells us to grow in discernment.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Rom 12:2

It also tells us to ask for wisdom.

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Jas 1:5

Proverbs urges counsel (Prov 11:14) and gives the basic posture.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Prov 3:5-6

In Acts 16, Paul and his companions are kept by the Spirit from speaking in Asia, and when they try to enter Bithynia "the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them." Then at Troas Paul sees a vision of a man of Macedonia, and Luke records:

As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Acts 16:10

Paul made plans, took another road when one was closed, and after the vision reached a judgment with his companions. It fits the proverb: "A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" (Prov 16:9).

The church's witness

The church has taught obedience first. On "Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10), Chrysostom says that before we come to heaven Christ "bids us make this earth into Heaven" Chrysostom. Seeking God's will is first of all living inside it.

Matthew Henry, on Deuteronomy 29:29, says we should not pry into God's secret counsels but should seek diligently what he has made known: "He has kept back nothing that is profitable for us, but only that of which it is good for us to be ignorant" Matthew Henry. On Proverbs 3:6 he advises, "beg God to direct thee in every case, though it may seem quite plain" Matthew Henry.

Traditions understand this guidance differently, and the question is open among Christians.

The first view stresses individual guidance. God has a specific plan for a person in important decisions, and he makes it known through Scripture, prayer, inner peace, circumstances and counsel. Many evangelical, Pentecostal and charismatic churches teach this (compare Acts 13:2). Its strength is the conviction that God still guides persons. Critics say it can produce anxiety and subjective certainty.

The second view stresses wisdom. God's will is the moral will revealed in Scripture and his secret providential will; where Scripture gives no command, we choose wisely and God directs that choice within his purposes. Reformed and many other evangelical writers teach it. The Westminster Confession (1.6) leaves some circumstances of worship and church government to Christian prudence under the general rules of the Word, and this view applies the same principle to life's choices. It frees people from anxiety; critics worry it narrows the Spirit's personal leading.

The third stresses practised discernment. In the Catholic Ignatian tradition, believers watch the movements of consolation and desolation in the heart and pray through a decision with a spiritual director or community.

They meet on essentials: God guides his people, Scripture comes first, prayer, humility and counsel are needed, and obedience is the setting of guidance.

In the original languages

The Greek verb sumbibazō (συμβιβάζω) behind "concluding" in Acts 16:10 means "to bring together." Paul's party put the closed road, the vision and one another's judgment together into one conclusion: guidance here is a process of fitting evidence together.

The "test" of Romans 12:2 is dokimazō (δοκιμάζω), to test something as metal or a coin is tested, and approve it as genuine. A renewed mind does the testing.

The word for "will" is thelēma (θέλημα), a wish or desire: God's will is not a code to be cracked but what he wants. In Deuteronomy 29:29 the "secret things" and the "things revealed" come from satar (סָתַר), "to hide," and galah (גָּלָה), "to reveal."

Common objections

"If God has a perfect plan for me and I choose wrongly once, the plan is ruined. That fear keeps me from deciding anything." This is a real anxiety, and teaching about individual guidance has sometimes fed it. Scripture says that God's purpose is not so fragile that our mistakes break it. "Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail" (Prov 19:21). Joseph tells his brothers, "what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good" (Gen 50:20). This does not make wrong choices harmless, but God works through them too. Scripture shows not a hidden dot to be found but a road to walk in trust.

"So knowing God's will is just common sense. And those who say 'God told me' are wrapping their own ideas in his name." There are cautions on both sides. The sense that God has spoken is easily confused with one's own wishes, and it has sometimes been used to justify harmful decisions. So Scripture says, "test the spirits to see whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1): feelings must be tested against Scripture and wise counsel. Yet reducing guidance to common sense is not Scripture's picture either: wisdom is a gift we ask for (Jas 1:5), and God is the one who works in us "to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose" (Phil 2:13). Ask in prayer, then test what you receive.

"I have prayed and heard nothing. Is God silent?" The feeling of getting no answer is a hard experience, and Scripture knows times when God seems silent. The church's advice is to do first what is already made known. Jesus said, "If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God" (John 7:17); knowing grows inside the desire to do.

Going further

Knowing God's will is less a matter of obtaining information than of walking with God. Paul speaks of offering our bodies as living sacrifices before he speaks of discerning God's will (Rom 12:1). The psalmist prays: "Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God" (Ps 143:10).

You might ask yourself: Which part of God's will that Scripture already makes plain have I not yet done? Whom could I trust to counsel me in my present choice? If fear of being wrong is keeping me still, how can I hand that fear to God?

To read further, see How does God speak? and Does God answer prayer? If anxiety makes choosing hard, How can I overcome anxiety? may help too.