How can I receive divine guidance?

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 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.

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).

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.

This connects obedience, and being thus led. In the days of scripture there were voices of the Spirit. I do not expect this, but it shews that in its nature it was not unscriptural, and I believe He will guide us and may suggest things to do, but the mind must be subject and lowly to enjoy this guidance, and if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not, and it shall be given him. Such as are meek, them will He guide in judgment, them will He teach His way. But it will be in the spirit of obedience, not the acting of our own wills, however hidden the motive. The state of the heart and the word hidden in it is always in question here. The word forms the judgment in forming the state of the heart without perhaps a particular text being in the mind, and God is faithful not to suffer us to be tempted above that we are able.

Wisdom and spiritual understanding should accompany the knowledge gleaned from the word of God in communion with Him. So far as wisdom is concerned, we are left in no doubt as to how we may obtain it: "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally." Spiritual understanding is surely received by allowing the Spirit of God to control all our thoughts, to form the habits of thought, to control our feelings and disposition of heart and mind. These divine traits will help us to do God's will in the manner that pleases Him; for it is necessary, if we would be here for God's pleasure to carry out His behests in the Spirit of Christ.

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.

The way to discern the will of God is (a) by prayer. (b) Scripture (c) Do not grieve the Spirit, who can lead us.

Ps. 32 contains the promise of instruction and teaching, yet it does not specify in any precise way how it is to reach us. Psalm 25 it is, which speaks of the keeping of "His testimonies" as the way by which the paths of the Lord become mercy and truth to us, and the form in which we have His testimonies available for us is in the Holy Scriptures. The Word of God is the prime fountainhead of all light and direction for us. There we find laid down the broad principles of action which are to govern us. There are smaller details of an individual sort of course, and we cannot expect to find reference to these in Scripture. Nevertheless we may seek and find guidance amidst many perplexing circumstances if we maintain the fear of the Lord, if we wait upon Him prayerfully in the spirit of meekness, and if we are obedient to that which we know of His revealed Word.

We do not say that we shall always be guided in such a way that we are quite sure, and conscious of it at the time. When the Word of God plainly directs us, and we obey it, we may indeed be sure. In the smaller details of life, when it is a question of where we shall go and what we shall do, we may yet be most happily guided if our state be right, if in meekness and obedience we seek not our own pleasure but the pleasure of God. He has pledged Himself to guide us, and He will do so. The only thing that will hinder is the assertion of our own will or pleasure. If we go forward in simplicity and self-judgment, making our decisions with a desire for His glory, we shall again and again have reason to look back with thankfulness, discovering that indeed His hand has led us.

The blessedness of prayer comes in naturally as a corollary to this, and the thing that above all we lack, in that exercise of patience of which the apostle has just spoken, is evidently wisdom. If God's will is all, the great point is to know His will. And for this we want, not simply knowledge as to this matter or that matter, but wisdom — the power to apply the truth we have, so as to see how God is working, to discern His ways. Little for us, indeed, is there to do when we are in the presence of God, although it may please Him in His grace to put something into our hands; and then, of course, it is a joy to have the privilege of serving Him in it. But the first thing for all this is guidance, that wisdom which is not always either the conscious application of this or that principle, but which becomes to one habituated to it almost an instinct, as we may say; although, indeed, it has a far higher character than this; and sometimes, too, the wisdom is really unconscious altogether. We do better than we know just because we are given up into the hands of this higher Wisdom to work through us. God would not make machinery of us. He uses heart, mind, everything for Himself — uses us according to our nature, never loses sight of that nature which He has given us; but then it pertains just to this wisdom to realize creature nothingness, and that God's ways, after all, are not discerned everywhere — that they are too wonderful for us, and that the greatest possible wisdom is often that of just committing ourselves into His hands, assured that we have His guidance because we seek His guidance, and He cannot disappoint the faith that counts on Him.

This may have its counterfeit, it is true, and we must realize that. How easy it is just to get upon our knees and ask God to lead us, and then follow our hasty impulses after all! Who shall save us from the mistaking one of those things for the other? How can we give an answer to this? It is in the sanctuary that we must learn it. It is in drawing near to God, there, where the pride of man is humbled and the impulses of nature find complete control. There is no absolute rule by which we can discern what wisdom is. We are to ask God "who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given" us. In inspiration we cannot but remember how prophets spoke more wisely than they knew, so that they had to look at their own prophecies to find that which was in them, which they had not discovered; and such may be with us the far-reaching result of our actions that, if led of Him, we shall find that we have acted much better than we knew. He "giveth liberally." There is in such grace as this of which we are speaking a largeness and breadth which show it to be divine; and thus the simplest, poorest child of God, the one most consciously ignorant, just in the consciousness of that ignorance may both act and speak so of the ability that God giveth that the highest wisdom amongst men shall not come near it for the excellence that is in it; and true faith is just of this character, that it makes God all, and draws thus out of the full fountain, never seeking it in vain.