Making Decisions and the Will of God (Part I)
A few years ago I asked a friend about his plans after graduating from seminary. He responded, “I’m still waiting on God to reveal His will in this area.” His response surprised me. My friend was ready to graduate with a master’s degree and had spent four years poring through books, papers, and syllabi. Yet by this time he was still unable to discern God’s will.
My intent in using this particular experience is not to attack this person but rather to make a plea in grace to believers on how they can know and do God’s will. I know that this can be overwhelming at times. The uncertainty of how one decision will impact future opportunities can create anxiety for some, but God is not silent concerning His will for our lives.
The reality of anxiety accompanying decision-making does not mean we can just escape the responsibility each day. Researchers at Cornell University recently estimated that the average adult makes about 35,000 conscious decisions each day.[1] They also estimated that people make about 226 decisions each day concerning food alone.[2] Therefore, escape from decision-making is not an option: Believers will need to think through how to know and do God’s will.
Christians will need to think carefully about these issues, especially since we are instructed to do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). Therefore, in these essays, we will consider some common Biblical examples and current approaches that believers have used to know God’s will. We’ll examine historical considerations and two particular views of God’s will for a person’s life. Lastly, we will look at some practical suggestions for making moral decisions.
Models and Methodologies
Believers can know and do God’s will. However, the most common mistake believers make involves practice. For this reason, we should define key aspects of the discussion surrounding moral decision-making. The three areas of God’s will most discussed in this field are:
- God’s sovereign will: This refers to everything God has decreed. This is also God’s master plan for the universe.
- God’s moral will: This refers to the moral standards God has revealed to mankind. These are commands God expects us to obey, which He communicates through His Word.
- God’s individual will: This refers to a detailed or specific plan that God has for every believer. Accordingly, this plan must be discovered and followed for Christian life and practice.
All three spheres play a role in the discussion of knowing and doing God’s will. These three spheres are often used in decisions as varied as choosing a college, a car, a spouse, or a job.
Little debate emerges about the reality of God’s sovereign and moral will. The general concepts of each are acceptable. However, the idea of God’s individual will is debatable. Scripture never commands believers to seek God’s individual will for their lives. Furthermore, Scripture does not give any instructions on how to discover God’s individual will. However, Scripture does instruct believers to seek God’s Kingdom and, by extension, keep His moral will (see Mt. 6:33).
In his book Knowing and Doing the Will of God, David Jones points out that “believers have historically emphasized following God’s will, not discovering God’s will.”[3] This is important for believers to consider when formulating opinions on knowing and doing God’s will. Should we seek to find some secret individual will of God when past believers have always looked to His Word for guidance? If we look elsewhere for guidance, doesn’t that reveal pride in our thinking that we have evolved to a higher level of spirituality than believers before us?
Jones develops this theme throughout the book and, at the end, reminds readers that Christians historically have sought to do God’s will and not to find it. He writes, “[I]n constructing an orthodox theology of God’s will, the best practice is to focus upon that which is prescribed, standard, and normative in the Bible, not events that are exceptional, anomalous, or singular.”[4]
Regrettably, advocates for finding an individual will can unknowingly encourage believers to look somewhere other than Scripture for guidance on life and practice. Jones writes, “Scripture never instructs Christians to find a secret, individual will of God. Believers are, however, clearly commanded to seek God’s Kingdom, which expands as Christians keep God’s moral will (see Mt. 6:33).”[5] The broader context of this passage encourages believers to find peace in God’s sovereign will (Mt. 6:25-34).
Historical Considerations
Moral decision-making has become a popular topic among believers today. People strongly encourage believers to seek God’s plan for their lives and find their place in His kingdom. This interest has led to the publication of many books and articles on the topic of finding God’s will. In order to understand the landscape of this discussion, we must understand two prominent frameworks. They are known as the Contemporary View and the Character View. We will specifically consider how each category views prayer in the decision-making process.
Contemporary-view advocates argue that prayer is a helpful tool in moral decision-making. The most notable difference here is that contemporary-view advocates argue for additional supernatural guidance, such as listening for an audible voice in prayer. This voice will then help the believer make the necessary decision at hand. Henry Blackaby writes:
[I]t’s crucial to know when the Holy Spirit is speaking. But how do you know what the Holy Spirit is saying? While I can’t give you a formula, I can say that you will know His voice when He speaks. . . . Prayer is not a one-way conversation where you simply recite everything you want God to do for you. It is two-way fellowship and communication. You speak to God, and He speaks to you.[6]
Supernatural guidance is certainly found in Scripture. God has led people through an audible voice, vision, or a miracle (Acts 8:26; 13:2; 16:9-10). However, such examples in Scripture are not prescriptive but rather descriptive. God does not promise such supernatural guidance to believers today.
In summary, contemporary-view advocates argue that prayer is the tool to determine the certainty of a particular decision. Within the contemporary view, prayer is practiced to gain specific, extra-Biblical guidance from God.[7] This guidance may come in the form of personal peace through prayer or through a voice. It is prayer, then, that helps to make your heart willing and able to hear this voice.
Prayer in the character view, on the other hand, focuses more on cultivating a relationship with God rather than investing time in finding God’s individual will. Advocates of this view encourage believers to follow God’s moral will as prescribed in Scripture rather than to try to discern a hidden individual will. This takes pressure off of the believer as “God alone turns His personal privacy into a deliberate disclosure of His reality” in His revealed Word.[8] This connection between Scripture and prayer is crucial. Since God has revealed His will in His Word, we should then focus our prayers on His Word. Kevin DeYoung writes:
[P]ray for things that you already know are God’s will. Pray for good motives in your decision making. Pray for an attitude of trust and faith and obedience. Pray for humility and teachability. Pray for His gospel to spread. You know that He wants these things in the world and for your life. Pray for them. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, as Jesus asked us to (Matt. 6:33).[9]
Notice the way this takes the pressure from the believer. Prayer is more focused on God rather than on man.
Decision-making can be an overwhelming process at times. Is waiting for God to speak necessary for the believer when He has already prescribed for us in His Word how we should then live? God speaks to believers through His Word. Therefore, Scripture should accompany prayer. The believer’s prayer, when guided by Scripture, will align more with God’s sovereign will.
Focusing on God’s Word will then shape the way the believer prays. Over time, our prayers will become more focused on God’s will found in the Scriptures rather than on their own personal wills. Believers should take comfort in the fact that God will always provide what we need (Mt. 6:25-34). This is especially true when it seems our prayers are not always answered according to our own desires.
While there are differing concepts on the will of God, there can be no doubt that believers have a genuine desire to participate in His plans. As with any other discipline, we need to look through this topic carefully through the lens of Scripture. In Part II, which will post later this week, we’ll look more closely at some Biblical and theological considerations concerning decision-making and the will of God.
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[1]Frank Gaff, “How Many Daily Decisions Do We Make?” North Carolina Science Now, February 7, 2018; http://science.unctv.org/content/reportersblog/choices; accessed April 18, 2018; Internet.
[2]Ibid.
[3]David W. Jones, Knowing and Doing the Will of God, rev. exp. ed. (Wake Forest: Veritas, 2017), 9.
[4]Ibid., 87.
[5]Ibid., 39.
[6]Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God (Nashville: B&H, 2008), 174-75.
[7]Jones, Knowing and Doing the Will of God, 68.
[8]Carl F. H. Henry, God Revelation and Authority, vol. 2, God Who Speaks and Shows: Fifteen Theses, Part One (Waco: Word, 1976), 17.
[9]Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will (Chicago: Moody, 2009), 94.
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