How can I discern the will of God?

It may be asked, How can I ascertain the will of God? First of all there must in such a case be the willing mind. This the Lord Himself declared — "If any one wills to do his will he shall know of the teaching whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself" (John 6:17). Coming to the scriptures with the prayer, already quoted, of the psalmist, "Teach me to do thy will, O God (Ps. 143:10), the docile spirit is instructed, so that he may stand perfect and fully assured in all that will (Col. 4:12). The apostle Paul desired on behalf of the saints at Colosse that they might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Col. 1:9). There is first the hearing and then the doing. In the Lord's words, "My mother and my brethren are those which hear the word of God, and do it" (Luke 8:21).

In this great matter, Colossians 1:9 always has been an encouragement to me. It deals with important issues related to this matter of understanding God's will: (1) Is it not through close communion with God, through the study of and meditation on His Word, that we may become exercised and also informed about a particular area in our lives or about a specific point? (2) Is it not through prayer, the expression of communion and dependence, together with the study of His Word, that we receive a confirmation or indication about the way we should go? (3) Is it not, also, through the work of the Holy Spirit, using the Word and prayers (our own and others'), that we get peace of mind with regard to the carrying out of God's will? (4) Is it not our conscience, exercised and formed by God's Word and Spirit, that would also be a tool for the indication of God's will? (5) Do we not rely on the good advice of

those we know are living in close communion with the Lord, that we find further help? (6) However. we have to compare counsel and advice from others with the Word. and with the leading of the Spirit in our lives. In the same way we have to check our own thoughts. David's prayer in Psalm 139, when we make it our own, is a real help in this process. (7) This means practically also that we have to take time, in order to come to a conclusion regarding God's will in our lives. Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength! (Isa. 40:31).

In many passages the will of God has reference to the eternal counsels of God, as we read, "Who works things after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:11). In other passages the reference is to God's will for His people in their daily path (1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Peter 2:15, etc.). It is so in this passage where the will of God evidently refers to our practical walk. The discernment of God's will for our path, while calling for a knowledge of God's mind as revealed in the Word, is made to depend upon the spiritual state of the soul, implied in the words "wisdom and spiritual understanding". The Apostle does not suggest that the full knowledge of His will can be gained by an intellectual knowledge of the express commands of God, as under law. Still less can it be gained by the advice of others, though brotherly counsel is not to be despised. "Wisdom and spiritual understanding" would rather imply, as one has said, "a perception of what is good and wise in God's sight, apart from its being His express command". "Wisdom" is acquaintance with truth in contrast to the lack of wisdom or intelligence (see Romans 1:14). "Spiritual understanding" is rather the discernment or spiritual insight that makes a right application of the truth to the particular circumstances.

The apostle Paul prayed that the saints at Colosse might be filled with the full knowledge of God's will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, for only thus can we carry out the mind of God for us. If this blessed knowledge is to fill heart and mind, other things will have to be displaced; nor shall we desire to carry out our own will, or the will of any but God. Diligent enquiry in the Scriptures will result in the acquisition of the knowledge of God's will; and this knowledge will have its proper place in the thoughts as it is held in communion with the Lord. The Lord Jesus was perfectly acquainted with God's will, and lived by every word of God. Our knowledge of God's will is very limited at best, for we are poorly instructed; and in our practical life, we live by few of God's words. Still, the whole scope of the truth is before us, and where there is desire, there will be spiritual increase. When upon earth, the Lord said, "If any man will to do His will, He shall know of the doctrine."

As the Apostle is about to present the Son of God’s love in a wonderful cluster of His glories, he prays for the saints at Colosse desiring that they “might be filled with the full knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col. 1:9). It is a blessed thing for the saint of God to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, for it displaces from his thoughts all relating to his own will and the will of any other man. There is no room in the heart and mind for the will of man when we are filled with the knowledge of God’s will. The full knowledge of God’s will is that which God has made known of His will in Christianity, and we can only obtain this knowledge through reading God’s word in communion with Him. The Spirit of God will bring this full knowledge into the heart as we commune with God in relation to the divine revelations of Christianity.

In turning to the apostle's prayer, we find he asks first that they may have knowledge of God's will — have that spiritual intelligence and understanding as to God's mind, that they may be able to walk. (vv. 9, 10). How can Christians do God's will if they do not know it? The great adversary, therefore, has gained a great step in souls when he has succeeded in hindering them from reading, and meditating on, the word of God; for God's word gives us His will. In the third chapter he exhorts them also that the word of Christ may dwell in them richly. It is impossible that the importance of habitually reading the Scriptures prayerfully, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, can be overrated; in fact, it is impossible that a believer can know how to act so as to please God without it.

You will need wisdom and discretion. Therefore you must give the Scriptures their proper place. The will of our Master and Lord is therein expressed; our business as disciples is to search out that will in dependence on the Holy Spirit's teaching. The Scriptures must therefore be to us the Word of God, and we must make them our careful study.

It is an undeniable truth that the"will of God" is only to be found in the "Word of God" and that therefore we must examine the Word of God if we want to know how, according to His will, we should serve the "living and true God". The Psalmist says.(Ps.119: 99, 105) "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,and a light unto my path" and "I have more understanding than all my teachers; for thy testimonies are my meditation."

The Christian revelation not only brings to us the full knowledge of God, but also unfolds the full knowledge of His will. This is found in the writings of the New Testament particularly, although the Old Testament gives us God’s will for the saints of old, and was written for our learning. The Holy Spirit enables us to apprehend God’s will from both the Old and New Testaments, and God’s word must ever be paramount with us, the touchstone of every thought, and the final court of appeal, for the Holy Scriptures ever remain as God’s standard of truth. Teachers may come with great pretension to piety and spirituality, but their words must be tested by Scripture; and they must be refused if they are endeavouring to present their own will instead of God’s will.

Every army is indebted to its intelligence corps. The knowledge of the size of the enemy army and it's ability to wage war is invaluable. Without such knowledge the outcome of a battle or campaign could be doubtful. The men of Issachar in David's army had understanding of the times. They knew what they had to do to make David the undisputed king of Israel. Saul's sun was setting while David's was in the ascendancy. Saul's army was crumbling. David's army was marshalling for victory. Their intelligence governed their motives and actions. We cannot place too high a value on correct understanding. There is no excuse for a Christian's ignorance in relation to the interests of Christ. Paul continually exhorted believers in Christ to be intelligent and not ignorant (Rom. 1:13; Rom. 11:25; 1 Cor. 10:1; 1 Cor. 12:1; 2 Cor. 1:8; 1 Thess. 4:13). Paul prayed that the believers at Colosse might have "spiritual understanding" (Col. 1:9). Obviously this kind of understanding is much more to be desired by a Christian than any other kind of understanding. Solomon was commended by God when he asked for an understanding heart to rule God's people, Israel (1 Kings 3:5-13). What would we ask for if God promised to give it to us? Take time to answer. It isn't as easy as it may appear to be. The Scriptures are an immense source of spiritual understanding. If we want the intelligence that is found in the Scriptures of Truth we need first of all to read them. That seems to be obvious. Secondly, we need the Lord to show us what the Scriptures mean (Luke 24:27, 45; 2 Tim. 2:7). Thirdly, prayer for help in understanding what we read is invaluable for spiritual progress. An important feature of understanding is found in Ephesians 5:17, "understanding what the will of the Lord is". Once we know that for our lives and obey it we are well on the way to upholding the interests of our Lord Jesus Christ.