The Four Ways to Discern the Will of God

February 3, 2025

Jesus, Moses and a small elderly man are playing golf. Jesus hits the ball poorly, and it ends up in the water hazard. Miraculously, the ball floats. Jesus walks on the water and hits the ball onto the green. Moses tees off next, and also, hits the ball into the water, but his ball sinks. He walks up to the pond, sand wedge in hand, and sticks it into the water. This makes the water part, allowing him to walk to his ball on dry land and hit it onto the green.

The old man also hits the ball into the water. Suddenly, a big fish swallows the ball and starts swimming away as a hawk swoops down and grabs the fish. As the hawk passes over the green, its grip tightens, causing the ball to pop out of the fish. The ball lands onto the green and rolls into the cup. Jesus turns to the old man and says, “Look Dad, if you’re going to play, at least play fair.”

Next to Jesus, Moses is probably the greatest man in human history. Could it have been different? After killing the task master in Egypt, he fled to Midian where he had it good (Exodus 2). He had a beautiful wife, two strong boys, an amazing father-in-law, and a thriving sheep herd. If he returned to Egypt, his accusers would be waiting for him. Pharaoh and Moses could have easily grown up together and known each other well, but when Moses asked his stepbrother Ramses to set his people free there would not be a warm welcome. Living out the will of God would not be easy, as the book of Exodus makes very clear. It would be easier to just stay in Midian.

We might think that if we had an experience with God as profound as Moses had at the burning bush (Exodus 3 & 4), we could boldly do God’s will no matter what. Moses found that when over a million people wined, screamed, and mutinied to return to the comforts of Egyptian slavery it can be very hard to know what the will of God is.

Can we know the will of God in our lives? I believe we can. God has an infinite number of ways to reveal His will to us, but the main ones are through the Bible, in prayer, through the voice of a spirit-filled believer(s), or by interpreting circumstances.

Most people try to understand God’s will through circumstances. They look to see if any doors are shutting, and if new doors to life’s journey begin to open, and then they walk through the open door. Unfortunately, this is the least reliable way to understand God’s will, and I don’t recommend you rely on this method exclusively.

I think learning how to listen for God’s voice in prayer is the best way to discern the will of God. This is harder than reading circumstances because listening prayer is a skill that takes time. That is why God loves listening prayer so much. He loves when we spend time with Him. He wants us to yearn to know His will, and desire to come into His presence. When we think God has spoken to our soul with His gentle whisper we should be willing to share our revelation with others, and see what they think. I call this the “confirming witness.” Our wants and desires can get in the way of hearing God’s gentle whisper to our soul, and we can hear wrong. If others provide a confirming witness it can help clarify God’s will.

The voice of another spirit-filled believer can provide this confirming witness. I have also had others who I trust share that they have a message from God for me. Having spirit-filled believers in your life can be crucial to living your life according to the will of God.

Finally, a knowledge of the Bible is invaluable in discerning the will of God. God will never ask us to do something that is contrary to His character, and we know who God is and how God works through the scriptures. So, if we think God is calling us to do something that may involve questionable moral behavior, it is unlikely we have correctly discerned the will of God.

Do you have an important decision you are dealing with right now? Try using the four ways to discern the will of God, and see if God doesn’t give you more clarity. May God be glorified as He uses you to advance His Kingdom.

(To learn more about Al Earley or read previous articles, see www.lagrangepres.org. You can purchase my book, My Faith Journal, at Amazon.com, a compilation of 366 articles as a daily devotional).