Decerning God's will

kittysbecute said:

How has God showed you his will? How do you decern God's will?
How do you know what to do when it feels like God is silent?

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All good things are in God's will, all bad is not...

Become conscious of your walking in God's will and presence (everywhere) (but, with you) and see if you don't start hearing from him...

You have to "test the spirits" (voices) if you start hearing them as to whether or they are in God's will or not, (judge angels)... And reject and separate yourself (and put "outside") from all that is (any voice) that is not...

If you find out one is false, tell them "it's not going to work", and move up to the next one, till your petition reaches God, and you best first know what exactly your petition is before you do that, as well... Along with other things you better know by then...

That's if you start hearing voices, that is...

God Bless!

Do you think God has a specific will for you?, other than just walking in the things of, His will...?

Usually, it takes time and prayer to really discern God's will in a given situation; we have to listen for His still small voice, and make sure what we hear doesn't contradict His word. When God is silent, He probably wants us to persist in prayer, or trust Him with what we already know.

https://www.intouch.org/read/magazine/daily-devotions/seeking-god-s-will
Charles Stanley: Unanswered Prayers: Why God Remains Silent?

kittysbecute said:

when it feels like God is silent

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1 Peter 3:4 says >

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)

So, part of God's will is that we become incorruptible in the beauty of His gentle and quiet love. God is not silent, but quiet.

So, part of knowing His will can come with not going along with unquiet things like boredom and loneliness and nasty angry reacting, various lusts for control and pleasure and excitement, and bitterness and unforgiveness. But be quiet in His love which can't be corrupted by these things.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18)

We are not bored or lonely in this love which makes us immune against fear and its various personality torments, and makes us creative with our Creator, for loving any and all people.

So, yes, if you start to be quiet in prayer, there are many things and thoughts which can attack you in order to keep you from becoming quiet and intimately sharing with God, and personally guided by Him > "continually" Isaiah 58:11 says.

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

In His peace, we are quiet, but not silent, with Him We have His personal communication and guiding, all the while we are submitting to how He rules us in His peace. So, we have deeper-than-words communication and personal guiding, not only hearing what He might say to us.

So, LORD our Heavenly Father of Jesus Christ Your own Son . . . we trust You in us to succeed in doing this with us Your children; and thank You so much; amen

There is no need to discern God's Will because it is only one (in the Bible):

- God's Will is to believe in His Son
- And those who believe Christ will do the works he's been doing and more.

Everything else you do is based on that and after careful consideration. Apostle Paul making tents have nothing to do with his ministry other than a source of money to meet basic needs. You can do any job, go anywhere as long as you can still do God's Will.

kittysbecute said:

How has God showed you his will? How do you decern God's will?
How do you know what to do when it feels like God is silent?

Click to expand...

Firstly, we can't expect God to tell us what to do if we are neglecting His revealed Word. It states very clearly in black and white what His will is:
Love others (and there are a million ways to do this)
Follow Jesus (we have to know what He said, and believe in Him)
If we need wisdom, we should pray for it (James 1) - there have been many times I have had this need.
etc.

Most of the time when I am trying to discern God's will, such as "should I get involved in this..." or "should I quit this activity..." or "should I try to make friends elsewhere..." or "what job should I select..." Most of the time I get the idea that I am to just make a choice based on what I believe are my talents, skills, abilities, and preference. If God doesn't want me there, it won't work out. I'll pray first, and if God is silent I start considering how God made me.

About a year ago, I was involved in too many ministries, and felt like I was headed for a crash (burn out, emotional breakdown, whatever you call it), so I decided to phase out of most of those activities, and today I am glad of it, even though I can see where my spiritual or psychological weakness prevents me from being more of what people need.
TD

kittysbecute said:

How has God showed you his will? How do you decern God's will?
How do you know what to do when it feels like God is silent?

Click to expand...

God has shown me His will in a couple major ways: 1. By the Word of God. 2. By the still small voice of His Holy Spirit.
I've discerned God's will by comparing what I've had a desire to do by God's Word and counsel by other faithful Christians. One thing to do while God is quiet is to keep on doing the last thing you heard Him command you to do before you stopped hearing Him. Sooner or later He will come to you again and give you the next prompting.
One piece of literature I would really recommend reading on these sort of things is a book by Henry Blackaby called, Experiencing God. It's a simple but thorough read and a classic at that.

kittysbecute said:

I'm called to live in obedience to God which means I am called to love. My identity is in Christ's friendship and love to me. (I'm not the best friend - but he is)
Psalms 40:6-8
Matthew 22:36-40
John 15
I guess I should just focus more on this than on stuff I don't know.

Why would God's will for me not be walking in God's will? Maybe I misunderstood your question though.

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I like the way you to take it back to basics, the "core", or fundamental foundation of our faith...

Yes you misunderstood my question, some people think this his will for them is very specific, while other's think his will for them is more a general guidelines kind of thing...

Which are you...?

God Bless!

As another posted, Charles Stanley has some great messages on knowing God's will about different things in your life. You can find them on youtube; i highly recommend him.

One way is His word as He will never contradict His word.

Another is through prayer and listening for Him.

Another is through confirmation, whether through circumstances or those around us.

But, it all starts with faith, trusting that God wants to reveal Hmself-as the Bible says, that He doesnt want us to be ignorantof what He wants to show and tell us.

This is a good question and one I had been struggling with until recently.

Basically, God's will is that we be saved, love Him and our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40) and that we rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

When it comes to specific things in our lives such as what to do about a job, who to marry, etc., God will lead us providentially to bring about those ends if we are faithful to seek His will.