One of the most common questions that Christians ask is how we can know what God wants. We want to hear from Him directly, especially when faced with a difficult decision. So how does God speak to each of us?
That’s a good question. I can’t give you a definitive answer, as the Bible doesn’t list the ways in which God communicates with us. We have what’s written in the Bible, and we have indications that God can communicate with each of us personally. What we don’t have is an explanation of when God does so, or why He might not.
We should be very careful about claiming that God has spoken to us directly. It’s very common these days to hear someone claim that God has told them this or that, but there’s no way to verify if it’s true. It’s the same for you and me, too: we can’t usually know whether one of our thoughts is from God or whether it’s our own. We sometimes fool ourselves into thinking that our own idea came from God, and then run off and do whatever we were thinking about.
That doesn’t mean that God can’t or won’t communicate to us. If you’re born again, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. That means you’re not alone! God is with you, and can guide you. When faced with a decision, pray. Ask God to help you know which way to choose. Sometimes you’ll simply have peace where you previously had uncertainty. Sometimes where you had certainty, you will no longer have peace about the decision. Sometimes, your circumstances change to make the right decision more obvious.
I wish I had a clearer answer for you, but I don’t. This is an area where it’s difficult to separate what we know from what we feel… and it’s hard to avoid adding our own traditions and thoughts to the question. We do have a Bible verse that helps us, though:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
That’s Romans 12:2. When we want to know God’s will, we should remember this verse. It’s not very helpful today, but it’s the long term solution to wondering what God’s will is… if we have conformed ourselves to the pattern of living found in Jesus’ teaching, we CAN know God’s will.
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