How to Hear God’s Voice and Discern God’s Will
A Guide for Making Decisions
Have you ever thought, “If God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life, then why doesn’t He tell me what it is?”
Life is full of decisions. We want to do the right thing, but how do we know what that is?
We pray. We ask God to tell us what to do, but we don’t just want Him to tell us. We want Him to tell us in an unmistakable way. We try to avoid the burden of responsibility that comes with making decisions because we fear making a mistake.
We want a clear sign from heaven, but in reality, God speaks most often through wisdom. God transforms our hearts and minds as we abide in Him — giving us the ability to make godly decisions. God doesn’t expect us to follow His will perfectly, but He does expect us to abide and trust Him. If you step off the path, He will guide you back — no worries, no harm done.
What about when God sends signs and speaks in extraordinary ways in the Bible? Does He still do that?
Absolutely! But what we see in scripture is that people like Paul were not seeking visions or supernatural signs. They lived by faith and wisdom, trusting in the Spirit and Word of God to guide them as they traveled and made decisions about the ministry. Miraculous guidance was only given during times when wisdom wasn’t enough.
Peter needed a vision to go minister in the house of a gentile.
Paul needed a visual to change the course of his ministry in Asia.
Philip needed divine intervention to leave the revival to travel out to the desert.
Wisdom alone would not have led those men to where God wanted them to go. In fact, God was calling them to go against wisdom, so God intervened supernaturally to guide them and accomplish His will.
Decision Time: 3 Possibilities
- Both options are good, and God is ready to bless either one.
- God has a preference and will lead you to it through wisdom.
- God has a preference and will intervene supernaturally to lead you to it if wisdom is not enough.
How Does God Guide Us Using Wisdom?
The Bible
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17; NIV)
We already know 99% of God’s will for our lives through His Word. God’s will for your life is to be worshiped and known by you. His will is for you to glorify Him in everything that you do (Colossians 3:23–34). God doesn’t care as much as we think about where we live and what we do (vocationally). If you can glorify God, serving Him and others faithfully in that situation, then it’s probably okay. Take some steps in that direction, and let God guide you.
Wise Thinking and Reflection
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2; ESV)
Did you know that God can use a simple pros and cons list to reveal His will to you? Don’t leave out reasoning and common sense when seeking to know God’s will.
What do you want? What are you feeling?
God can speak through your feelings and desires. It’s true that our hearts can lead us astray at times, but a renewed heart is a great tool to discover God’s will.
What are you good at? Your gifts are from God, so of course your giftings will be part of your calling.
Wise Counsel
“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22; ESV)
Seek out trusted, godly leaders and friends who know you well. What do they think? Invite them to pray with you through the decision.
Is there repetition in what they’re saying? If much of your counsel is in agreement, it’s probably God speaking.
Stay humble and willing to listen, even if it’s not what you want to hear. Be willing to submit when appropriate.
Providence
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21; ESV)
God is in control and is constantly creating and placing us into situations to guide us. He’s introducing us to the right people at the right time. He’s stifling certain plans and letting some prayers go unanswered. He’s even recycling our sins and mistakes to teach and lead us. The purpose of the Lord will prevail in your life if you continually seek Him.
We should pray when making big decisions, but we don’t see people in the New Testament asking God to show them the future. Ask God to lead you in wise thinking.
PRAY: Help me to have proper motives. Help me to not make decisions out of insecurity, desire for recognition, or a love of money. Help me to see myself and my situation accurately. Help me to be honest with myself. Give me wisdom through wise counsel and humility to listen. Guide me by your providence.
Keep your heart open to divine intervention, but if God does speak to you supernaturally (dream, vision, etc.), don’t act on it alone.
Go back to the scriptures. Go back to your wise counsel to double-check what God is speaking.
Guiding Questions to Help Discern God’s Will
- How has God led you in the past? Did He use any of the above methods? Which one does He use most often with you?
- Are you in the middle of any big, important decisions now?
- Can you think of any relevant stories or verses from scripture?
- Have you spent time thinking, journaling, and reflecting? Have you weighed the pros and cons? Has anything jumped out?
- What are you feeling? What do you want?
- Have you sought out wise counsel? What are they saying?
- Are there any doors that have recently opened or closed?
- Do you feel like you’ve received any supernatural signs?
What is preventing you from making a decision? What are you waiting for? What do you need to know that would help you move forward? Are you being held up by legitimate concerns or just fear of the unknown?
You will never be 100% certain, but if you’re abiding in Jesus, you don’t have to be. Live by faith and trust that if you make a mistake, He will gently guide you back onto the right path.
Fear not. God is with you and wants what is best for you.
