When I was a younger teenager, I distinctly remember being in a Sunday night discipleship class where we asked the question, “Can you know the will of God?”

I have long forgot the contents of that hour, but I’ve not forgotten the question.

Is it possible to know the will of God? That is still an issue today.

In that discipleship class, I’m fairly certain we determined that it is possible to know the will of God. I feel strongly today that you can.

We need to know what we can do to know the will of God.

First, look closely in God’s Word. God gave us Scripture to reveal Himself and let us know Him and His ways. Therefore, we should look first to Scripture to show us what matters to God.

Several passages of Scripture tell us explicitly about the will of God.

For example, any commandment is obviously the will of God. The word “commandment” demands that we understand the will of God in this way.

Therefore, we have been commanded – – it’s the will of God – – to love one another, take the gospel to all nations, and honor father and mother. These are commandments found explicitly in Scripture.

In the same way, Paul told us it is the will of God that we flee fornication (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

Reading, studying, and meditating on Scripture will show us explicitly what is God’s good and perfect will.

I would be so bold to say that you cannot know God’s will without Holy Scripture. Therefore, it’s imperative for us to read and study the Word of God.

This first step should solve most issues in our lives.

Second, spend intense time in prayer.

Don’t pray to get God to give you what you want. Unfortunately, most of us pray in this way.

Prayer should be to discern what God says and what really matters to Him. Only when we pray in this way can we truly know the will of God. If not, we are simply having an exercise to confirm our own will.

As you pray, tell God you want to do only what He wants and that you will follow His direction. If this process takes you anywhere that disagrees with God’s Word, obviously you are misunderstanding God.

Prayer will aid us in the fine points of understanding God’s will.

Finally, seek the counsel of trusted, Godly people whose only desire is for you to fully and completely obey God. Those people will help guide you along the way. Listen carefully to their encouragement.

One of life’s greatest joys is having obeyed God. Seek to do this and your life will be filled with peace and joy.

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