A while ago I heard a statement that really made me think. In fact, it helped me in my prayer life… You ask God about something, and when He answers you question whether or not it was Him. Why don’t you believe Him? Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will come to guide us into all truth AND He will tell us of things to come. The Spirit is given to us to be our guide (Rom. 8:14), not only to show us the way, but to go along with us, by his continued aids and influences.
“Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.” Acts 16:6
The Holy Spirit forbid them… Very interesting! According to the Bible, in his later years, Paul would do some of his greatest work in that very region; but now the door was closed before him by the Holy Spirit. Paul didn’t go where he wanted to go. Instead, he went where God had work for him to do. The province of Asia was not yet ready for the bold type of teaching of truth that Paul was known for. Apollos needed to go there first to lay the groundwork. At this time Christ would employ Paul in a piece of new work where there is more need – preaching the gospel to a Roman colony at Philippi in Macedonia. Here is a great quote from Matthew Henry’s Commentary… “God’s calls must be complied with immediately. As our obedience must not be disputed, so it must not be deferred; do it to-day, lest thy heart be hardened.”
To know God’s will doesn’t mean that we have to hear His audible voice. We don’t know how the Holy Spirit told Paul that he and his companions should not go into Asia. It may have been through a prophet, a vision, an inner conviction, or some other circumstance. God leads us in different ways. Here are a few things to follow when trying to discern God’s will: 1. His will never contradict His Word. 2. Ask mature Christians for their advice. Many times God confirms things to me in conversations I have with other sisters and brothers who are in Christ. 3. Pray that God opens and closes doors of opportunity as He desires. 4. Be still and know He is God (Psalm46:10). Be quiet and just listen. Wait on God. I’ve learned to ask God to put a wall of His fire around my mind so I won’t be deceived by my own wretched thoughts or any temptation from Satan.
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10
“For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:11
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12
I remember when I used to counsel at our local pregnancy center… I was speaking to my client about Who God is and what He desired for her in her life. She looked at me and angrily asked, “And how do you know what God wants?” Immediately, 1 Corinthians 2:11 came out of my mouth! Now who can have such a thorough knowledge of God but God? The Spirit of God knows the things of God because he is one with God. And as no man can come at the knowledge of what is in another man’s mind till he communicates and reveals it, so neither can we know the secret counsels and purposes of God till they are made known to us by his Holy Spirit.