Have you ever asked, “What is God’s will for my life?” As a Christian, you probably have. 

When we were college students, my Christian friends and I asked this question a lot! But somehow, we also had the impression that once we finally discovered the answer, it would set our lives on a path that would keep us from ever having to ask this question again.

However, what we didn’t realize was that we would ask this question periodically again, throughout the rest of our lives!

So how can you discover what God’s will is?

According to Henry Blackaby (in his book Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God), these four areas of life can help you to discern God’s will: 

1. The Bible

Whenever you read the Bible, you are reading God’s Word. What better source is there for discovering God’s will, than to read the words that God has to say, Himself? 

When you read the Bible (and especially when you memorize Bible verses), the Holy Spirit reminds you throughout the day of verses that you have read. He also gives you insight into these verses. He helps you to understand more about what God is saying to you, and points out how to apply Scripture to the situations that you are experiencing. 

In addition, have you ever been reading Scripture, and something that you’re reading suddenly seems to get your attention in a different way than it has before?

Whenever a verse seems to “pop out at you”, be sure to pay attention, because God may be drawing your attention to something that He is telling you! 

2. Prayer

Communication is vital in human relationships - it is also vital in your relationship with God! Prayer is your communication with God. 

When you are reading the Bible, God is speaking to you. When you are praying, you are speaking to God. This is two-way communication between you and God.

Have you ever been talking to God in prayer, but He didn’t seem to be saying anything back? 

Whenever this happens, be sure to go back to the Bible! Reading what’s written in the Bible can fill your heart with a wealth of things that God has to say, since the Bible is God’s Word, written to you!

Praying helps you to surrender your will to God’s will. How can you discover what God’s will is, if your own will is still in the way?

Prayer helps you to put aside your own human way of doing things, and prepares your heart to hear what God has to say. 

3. Circumstances

If you have already been reading the Bible and praying, then you will become more likely to discern what God has to say through your circumstances, as well. 

Jesus is our best example of this! He listened intently to God’s Word at the synagogue and came to know Scripture by heart. He made a habit of going away to places where He could be alone to pray. And He applied Scripture to His daily life.

Jesus sought to discern His Heavenly Father’s will by watching what was going on around Him.

Jesus said in John 15:19:

“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” 

Jesus intentionally noticed what He saw His Heavenly Father doing in the circumstances around Him. Then He joined His Father by doing those things that He saw, as well.

You can follow Jesus’ example by doing this too: Fill your mind with Scripture and get “prayed-up”. Then watch for evidence of God working in the circumstances that transpire around you. 

After you have discerned what God is doing, this realization is your invitation to join Him in what He is doing! Jesus said in John 5:17: “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 

4. The Church

God also speaks through the church (meaning, other Christians). Listening to what Christians have to say to you can often help you confirm God's will. 

As a young Christian, I read lists in the Bible that mentioned various spiritual gifts. Honestly, I secretly hoped that I had the gift of prophesy, simply because I thought this sounded cool! But later on, I learned that it wasn’t up to me to decide which spiritual gift(s) I would have; God is the One who has decided that!

1 Corinthians 12:11 says that the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to each Christian, “just as He determines.” 

Eventually, I began noticing that Christians would frequently tell me that they felt encouraged whenever they talked to me. This brought Romans 12:6-8 to mind, which lists encouragement as one of the spiritual gifts:

“We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

When you become a Christian, you are given spiritual gifts in order to help accomplish God's purposes in the world! He gives various spiritual gifts to Christians, and He gives specific ones to you, just as He determines!

Have you ever noticed some specific thing that Christians tend to give you as feedback about yourself? Have they mentioned being positively influenced by you in a certain way? 

Take a look at the lists in the following Bible passages to see if their feedback happens to be listed. If so, this may give you some insight into what your spiritual gifts might be. 

• Romans 12:6-8
• 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
• 1 Corinthians 12:8

God gives you spiritual gifts and wants you to use them... this is His will!

Looking just at your circumstances or listening to what other people have to say, cannot stand alone! You also need to look at what the Bible has to say, and communicate with God in prayer. All four of the areas of life mentioned need to be considered as you seek to discern God's will: 

The Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church