It’s important to know God’s will. Jesus said that His true relationships are those who know and do the Father’s will: “For whoever does the will of God is My brother, and sister, and mother” ( Mark 3:35 ). In the parable of the two sons, Jesus rebukes the chief priests and elders for failing to do the Father’s will—specifically, “they did not repent nor believe” ( Matthew 21:32 ). At its most basic, God’s will is to repent of our sin and trust in Christ. If we haven’t taken that first step, then we haven’t yet accepted God’s will.
Once we receive Christ by faith, we are made children of God ( John 1:12 ), and He desires to lead us in His path ( Psalm 143:10 ). God is not trying to hide His will from us; He wants to reveal it. In fact, He has already given us many, many directions in His Word. We are to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ). We are to do good works ( 1 Peter 2:15 ). And “for this is the will of God, that you abstain from fornication xo-before-marriage.html”>fornication” ( 1 Thessalonians 4:3 ).
God’s will can be known and demonstrated. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” This passage gives us an important sequence: the child of God refuses to conform to the world and instead allows himself to be transformed by the Spirit. When his mind is renewed according to the things of God, then he can know the perfect will of God.
Knowing God’s will is sometimes difficult because it requires patience. It’s natural to want to know all of God’s will at once, but that’s not how He usually works. He reveals to us one step at a time—each move is a step of faith—and allows us to continue to trust Him. The important thing is that as we wait for Him to continue leading us, We are busy doing the good we know we should do ( James 4:17 ).
Often, we want God to give us specific details—where to work, where to live, whom to marry, what car to buy, and so on. God allows us to make choices, and if we submit to Him, He has ways to prevent wrong decisions (see Acts 16:6-7 ).
The better we know a person, the more familiar we become with his or her desires. For example, a child may see a ball that bounced across the street, but he or she doesn’t run after it because he or she knows “my dad wouldn’t want me to do that.” He doesn’t have to ask his or her father for advice about every particular situation—he or she knows what his or her dad would say because he or she knows him or her. The same is true in our relationship with God. As we walk with the Lord, obeying His Word and relying on His Spirit, we find that we have the mind of Christ ( 1 Corinthians 2:16 ). We know Him, and that helps us know His will. We find God’s guidance readily available. “The righteousness of the upright directs his way, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness” ( Proverbs 11:5 ).
If you are walking closely with the Lord, and truly desiring His will for your life – God is going to place His own desires in your heart. The key is to desire God’s will, not your own. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” ( Psalm 37:4 )