The difference between God’s “will" and God’s “direction.” Faith is from God; arrogant intimidation is from the pit of hell!

There is a story of a woman that decided to host a party at her house for the entire block. She worked all day preparing everything for 20 – 25 people. Finally things were ready and the guest arrived. As they all gathered in the living room, the woman explained how dinner would proceed, and then asked all to hold hands in a circle to dedicate the meal to the Lord. They all bowed their heads and then the woman looked up and asked her 12-year-old daughter to pray. The daughter looked up and said, "Mommy I don't know what to say." Her mother said, "Just say what you have heard Mommy say." So the little girl bowed her head and said "Oh God, why did I invite all these people over here today!"

Perhaps sometimes being totally open in prayer may not always be wise; there are things that not everyone needs to hear. However, when we come to sharing our heart with God our Father, we need to be 100% transparent, yet remembering Who it is we are speaking to.

As we continue to look at discovering how to find God’s direction for your life we need to remember there are some conditions. We looked at one already -

·      Make sure Rom 12:1-2 is a reality.

Considering the next two conditions, our prime example is Jesus in garden.

2. Make sure you are honest

Jesus made it clear to His Father that He did not want to go to the cross. He was not afraid to be totally honest with the Father; neither should we. Remember, prayer is not for God, but for us. God knows every thought, desire and motive we have, the problem is, due to our flesh, we can deceive ourselves as to what we really want and the motive we have. 

Prayer requires us to put out in front of ourselves what we really are saying to God. From that point on, God will then work with us to lead us to understand what He believes is best.

We need to be totally honest - tell God your likes and dislikes; what you really want. Remember, unlike the prosperity doctrine, this is faith, not arrogant intimidation; asking is not demanding!

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

John 16:24 “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.

3. Make sure you are open for His specific direction for you no matter where it leads

Jesus was honest but yielded to any possibility that would be God’s direction. "Never the less" really equals no except clauses, this is the balance to our honesty and is why it is so important to be totally open with God and yourself.

Matthew 26:39–42 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”  And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

James 4:14–5:1 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.

When we are completely obedient to what God has clearly revealed in His Word, and we are totally honest about our desires, while at the same time absolutely willing to do whatever God's direction will be, then we are ready for God to lead us specifically where He wants us to be. Many people believe that God is playing games and making it hard for them to follow where He is specifically leading. I know that I felt this way too, but after much time in study and meditation, also evaluating my past experiences, I came to the hard reality that it was not God Who's playing games, it was me. Either I was not in the will of God because I was being disobedient, or I was not being honest because it did not sound spiritual, or I had “except clauses” to my willingness to follow God. After being illuminated by the Spirit of God to this reality my life has drastically changed. I move now with confidence knowing that my Lord is eager and delighted to direct me to exactly where He knows is best. Yes, this still requires time in prayer, time in meditation and reflection. However, in the past two decades I have not experienced once, when my life is where it should be, a time when I asked God to direct me specifically that He failed to do so.

Heart check: When was the last time you asked God for specific direction? What happened? Why do you think it happened that way? Are you willing to spend some time evaluating whether or not you are in the will of God, being totally honest about your desires, yet willing to follow wherever He leads? Why not ask God right now to show you how much He desires to guide your life?