Guidelines for Knowing the Will of God for a Specific Situation Part 1

The following is an objective approach to hearing from the Lord concerning specific issues. Knowing you have consistently followed certain steps often takes the emotion and doubt out of going to the Lord and increases our confidence that we have truly heard from Him. 1. Acknowledge and remind yourself of your spiritual identity in Christ. Who you truly are, a spirit being, already knows the answer to whatever your question is! 2. Review the central means of guidance in the previous series, “General Methods of Guidance according to Grace.” 3. DO THE RESEARCH! Seeking divine guidance is not a way to get out of your decision-making responsibilities. 4. Decide what YOU want to do. You can’t submit your desires to God until you “own” them; you can’t truly give to God something that doesn’t belong to you. 5. Adjust your beliefs and expectations until you can take an objective stance regarding the issue. It’s difficult to hear from the Lord when we already have an opinion. 6. Ask specific questions. Having done your research and self-evaluation, phrase the issue into specific questions, rather than asking the Lord general questions. 7. Establish a time frame for when you need an answer; by noon on Thursday, for example. Be realistic, and develop an expectation of His response. 8. Set aside time specifically to wait on the Lord regarding the issue. 9. When your deadline comes, if you have specifically heard from the Lord, acknowledge the direction specifically. If you haven’t heard specifically, go ahead and make a decision! 10. Set a final deadline. Wait on the Lord, giving Him an opportunity to change your mind. “Lord, tomorrow I’m going to accept that position. If you don’t want me to, let me know.” 11. Act on your decision, taking responsibility for the guidance received.