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Pursuing the Heart of God – Day 50 – The Will of God

Pursuing the Heart of God – Day 50

The Will of God

Dear Lord, I want to live the best possible life You have for me. How do I know Your will? What are your plans for me? When do I need to check with You to make a decision? What direction should I take for this situation? Lord, please let me in on Your will for me.

A Message from God’s Heart to Yours:

My child, do not live as unwise but as wise; do not be foolish, but understand what My will is for you (Ephesians 5:15-17). Approach My throne of grace with confidence, so that you may receive My mercy and find My grace to help you in your time of need (Hebrews 4:16). I want you to seek My will in all decisions, in every aspect of your life. I desire your obedience, and in order to obey, you must know My will. 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 My will is—My good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2).

Renew your mind in My Word. One place you can discover My desired will for you is in the Bible. Read it, believe it, and follow it. Also, when you pray, the Holy Spirit will lead you to Scripture which will instruct you to follow the path I have marked out for you. The Spirit will guide you to the next step in the plans I have pre-determined for you, plans to prosper you, give you hope, and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Seek Me any time, day or night, and I will let you in on My plans for you. You know My voice, listen and follow (John 10:27).

As long as you remain yielded to Me, and in communication with Me, I will guide you in My will and provide everything you need to accomplish it. Even Jesus, the Son of God, depended on Me and submit Himself to My will, even unto death on the cross. He did not face that alone. He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but yours be done.” My will for you is not always the easiest path, but I work all things together for the good of those who love Me and are called according to My purpose (Romans 8:28). Nothing is impossible for Me, and that means, nothing is impossible for you when you have faith in Me (Matthew 17:20).

I ask you to trust Me. I am in control. I established My throne in the heavens, and My sovereignty rules over all (Psalm 103:19). If you think you are in control of your own life, you are deceived. I am in control of all things. However, I do give you the free will to choose. But I know ahead of time, what your decision will be, and I work behind the scenes to use it for good. I will continue to work in your life through your circumstances, but it may not be My best for you, unless you seek Me first and walk in My will.

That doesn’t mean you won’t suffer the consequences of your poor decision gone wrong. A person reaps what he or she sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Galatians 6:7-8). Live by the Spirit, not the flesh. Walk in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). He guides you along the right paths (Psalm 23:3).

I know the future, and it is most beneficial for you to seek Me for your next step in all situations. I give you guidance for every step of life. My plans for you are best. Submit yourself to My will, and you will prosper. When you make decisions of your own free will, without consulting Me, you may suffer the pain of your own making. Do not run ahead of Me. I act on behalf of those who wait on Me (Isaiah 64:4). Hope in Me; you will not be disappointed (Isaiah 49:23).

I know all things, while you have limited knowledge. Making decisions based on your emotions and earthly desires, may cause you to step out of My perfect will for you. Your life is but a mist, here for a little while and then gone; you do not know if you will see tomorrow (James 4:14). Walk in the favor of My will and lead the best possible life I have for you. I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).

Prayer:

Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground (Psalm 143:10). Guide Me along the right paths (Psalm 23:3). Help me remember to seek You first, before I make my decisions. Lord, I delight in You; please give me the desires of my heart. Help me run with perseverance the race you have marked out for me, fixing my eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-3). Lord, share the inner workings of Your heart and Your will with me now. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Two-way Conversation with God:

  •  Lord, is anything in my life blocking my ears from hearing Your voice? Please show me way I have offended You, so that I may remove this roadblock. (Write all words and thoughts He gives you.)

 

  • Jesus, Your Word is a light to my path (Psalm 119:105). Please light the next step for me now. (Record whatever you hear from Him.)

 

  • Holy Spirit, please guide me in the way You would have me go. I commit my way to the Lord; I put my trust in Him. Show me how to live in step with You. (Journal all the thoughts He gives you.)

 

Review God’s thoughts and impressions you’ve sensed and written above. What Scripture comes to mind as you review your notes? Use the concordance of your Bible to look up an impression from God’s Word. Record the verse or passage here. Write all insights and encouragement the Holy Spirit illumines for you as you read God’s Word right now.

Prayer:

Father God Almighty, I will take delight in You. I commit my way to You; I put my trust in you. Please make my righteous reward shine like the dawn (Psalm 37:3-7). I will be still and wait patiently for You. You know what is best for me. Lord, please show me Your plans, one step at a time. I desire to do Your will God (Psalm 40:8). Give me the forbearance to wait on You and trust in You to give me the full life You intended for me. I want to walk in step with Your Spirit. Guide me along the right paths (Psalm 23:3). In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Supporting Scripture:

Psalm 23:3, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.

Psalm 37:3-7, 3Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: 6He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalm 40:8, “I desire to do Your will, my God; Your law is within my heart.”

Psalm 103:19, The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.

Psalm 143:7-10, 7Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. 8Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life. 9Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. 10Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Isaiah 49:23, “Those who hope in Me will not be disappointed.”

Isaiah 64:4, Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

Jeremiah 29:11-14, 11“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”

Jeremiah 32:17, “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.”

Matthew 7:7-8, 7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ”

Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 12:50, “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 17:19-20, Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there.’ And it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Luke 22:39-42, 39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and His disciples followed Him. 40On reaching the place, He said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed. 42“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but yours be done.”

John 6:37-40, 37“All those the Father give Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me. 39And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 10:10, “The thief comes only to seal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 10:27, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 12:2, 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.

Galatians 5:24-25, 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 6:7-10, 7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Ephesians 5:15-20, 15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:13, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.

Colossians 3:23-25, 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, 3It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that his holy and honorable, 5not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you His Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 16Rejoice always, 17pray continually, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:16, Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 12:1-3, 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

James 4:13-17, 13Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and to this or that.” 16As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17If anyone, then knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

1 Peter 3:17, For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 5:14-15, 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.

Copyright © Sindy Nagel. All Rights Reserved

Step 7 – Share the Good News


A woman is standing at the microphone and holding a pen.

I followed Christ more than twenty years before I learned the art of listening to God’s voice. I knew God spoke to a few people, but I didn’t believe He would speak to me. If early in my walk of faith a more experienced Christian had practiced “show and tell†with me, I could have been listening to God’s voice for many, many more years. When you know something really great—when you have access to a priceless piece of art—you show and tell others about it. You show them what it means to you and tell them how to achieve it for themselves.

Enable others to enjoy the treasure you already enjoy. Tell people they can hear the voice of God. Show them the art of listening to Him. This is my prayer for you: “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ†(Philemon 6).

Please do a better job than I have done as a wife and mother in sharing your relationship with Jesus Christ and your ability to hear God’s voice with your spouse, your children, and their children. Satan wants nothing more than for us to keep this priceless treasure to ourselves.

When I started hearing God’s voice, my enemy, the devil, took notice. Satan stood on full alert and wanted to stifle me before I became a threat to his work. He introduced new lies to me, and, naively, I believed them. I crawled into my prison cell once again when I believed in the opponent’s deceit. He cunningly ran these crafty thoughts through my mind: You hear God speak? Really? People will think you are crazy. You’d better keep this one to yourself. No one will believe you. They will think you are foolish. They will lock you up and throw away the key. Your husband won’t believe you. He’ll think you are unstable—after all, you are depressed and taking medication. Your children won’t understand. Don’t even try to share this with them.

Do you feel as unhappy about this as I do? Have you ever had similar thoughts? I allowed Satan, the destroyer, to shame me right into silence. I wasn’t crazy but naïve—not fully aware and alert to my spiritual opponent. I was not knowledgeable and experienced in the ways of the devil. I kept this wonderful news of hearing God’s voice all to myself. I shared it only with my mentor, who heard God’s voice too.

I played right into Satan’s hand. If he could keep me silent about listening to God’s voice, he had me exactly where he wanted me. Nobody would know about it. Nobody would hear the good news. Nobody would be encouraged to listen to God speak. Nobody would believe they could hear the voice of God in their thoughts. The enemy had me believing I lived on an island, all alone. Satan convinced me that many believers do not hear God’s voice, and I’d be crazy to say I do. Therefore, I supposed I should not tell anyone I practice listening to God and I recognize His voice.

As soon as I became wise to Satan’s deceitful ways, I began the battle of breaking free. King Jesus came to my rescue again. The Holy Spirit used Scripture to educate me about the devil’s ways. He instilled confidence in me because Christ has already won the battle against my enemy. Christ has set me free. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.†I remain free now to show others what God has done for me and to tell them how to listen to His voice.

I learned to pray the Armor of God, from Ephesians 6:10-18, to protect myself. He showed me how to rebuke the devil and stand strong in the victorious name of Jesus Christ. He gave me the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, as my weapon of choice. Not only did I have a new passion for Christ, I had a new hatred toward the devil. I would stand firm in the finished work of Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, I would win this battle in my mind. I would be excited to “show and tell†the world how to practice the art of listening to God.

In my weakness, Jesus Christ strengthened me for battle. He protected me from my enemy and equipped me to stand victoriously in authority over Satan. Jesus prepared me to carry out my purpose in God’s greater plan. I’m nobody special, except that I’m a child of God. He had me in mind before He created the world. He wanted me and loved me before He set the stars in the sky.

He uses the common, the lowly, and the unlikely ones to carry out His plans. I represent the common, lowly, and unlikely. I am an ordinary woman who can hear from an extraordinary God. He used my story and prepared me to share it to bring His people into closer relationship with Himself. God has called me to deliver a message to His people. This is the message God wants me to share with you:

God loves you more than you will ever comprehend. He wants to have an intimate relationship with you. He speaks to you, and He wants you to listen. He has more to say than a “yes†or “no†to your requests. He wants you to put Him first in your life by spending time with Him daily, listening to His voice, and carrying out His will.

Spending time in relationship with Jesus Christ to develop the art of listening to God is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. Well, it’s a close second to the decision I made to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. Listening to God and hearing His voice is priceless—a valuable art form. Will you search for it as for silver? Building intimacy with Jesus Christ is building spiritual wealth in the kingdom of God, here on earth and in heaven. Will you pursue it as you would hunt for gold? The wisdom of God is more precious than rubies. Will you seek it around every corner?

Right now, I implore you to reclaim any power you have relinquished to the enemy and empower your family, your friends, your children, and your children’s children by passing on this precious gift of knowledge to them. Do not fear; be strong and courageous. Tell those you influence to put God first—to spend time with Him and listen to His voice. Train them in the ways of God, and then train them in the ways of Satan, their enemy. Educate them and equip them to stand firm and claim Christ’s victory in their own battles.

Demonstrate how to know God better by saturating yourself in His Word and meditating on it day and night. Encourage your children to do the same. Place them into God’s care and protection, so they may develop a greater intimacy with and trust in the One who created them.

Model the practice of listening to God’s voice in front of them so that it can be caught as well as taught. Share your own experiences with them. In the words of Charles Stanley, children will “do what we do before they do what we say.â€[4] So be sure you are practicing what you are preaching, and then instruct the next generation and beyond, using the four T’s:

  1. Tell them to put God first by making time for Him, making Him a priority in their lives.
  2. Train them to know God better by reading His Word and meditating on it day and night.
  3. Trust them to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ by spending time with Him in the person of the Holy Spirit and yielding their own spirit to His.
  4. Teach them to “listen†to the voice of God within themselves—listen and obey.

When you believe in God and accept Jesus as your Savior, He sends His Holy Spirit to live in your heart. The living God dwells in you! Look within your own spirit, and tune in to the Spirit of God. Jesus promised the Spirit of Truth would speak to you and make the things of God known to you. You have access to everything that belongs to God—to His very mind and thoughts. God and Jesus speak to you through the Holy Spirit, who speaks to you in your thoughts. Listening to God’s voice within you is one of the keys to experiencing an abundant life—the full life Jesus Christ came to give you. When you can hear the voice of God, you have everything you need; you are filled with all the fullness of Christ. When you hear God speak to you, it will change your life forever.

Now believe it and do it! Go and listen to the voice of God! God will bless you richly as you seek to know Him more intimately.

Respond to God’s voice in the words of the boy, Samuel: “Speak, for Your servant is listening†(1 Samuel 3:10). May God bless you with His presence and His word as you seek to know Him better every day. Know and cherish God’s voice within you. And then, be sure to ‘Share the Good News’ with the world!

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A woman is standing at the microphone and holding a pen.

Book One in Hearing God’s Voice Series