Choosing God’s Will Every Day
Adapted from Healing the Soul of a Woman
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
I learned early in my Christian walk that the soul of a person is composed of the mind, the will, and the emotions. When we talk about having our soul healed, we are talking about finding healing for the things that have hurt or damaged us in our mind, our will, or our emotions. All three areas are important, but today I want to focus on the will.
The will refers to our wants, desires, and choices. When we realize that we want something and then we make the decision to get it, we are exercising our will. When someone wants us to do something and we refuse, that is also a choice of the will. If we are going to be healed in our soul, we need to submit and surrender our will to God. We should desire God’s will—what He wants for us—more than we want our own.
Want God’s will with all of your heart because you love Him and want to please Him. Submitting to God’s will shows that we trust Him and are confident that what He wants for us is much better than what we want for ourselves. I say, “Pray for what you want and joyfully receive what you are given.”
When we seek God’s will about various things in life, we do not always find our specific situation in Scripture. The Bible does not tell us whether or not to move to a certain city, whether or not to take a certain job, whether or not to buy a new car, or what we should do about marrying a certain person. It does, however, give us general guidelines that will help us follow God’s will. For example, if we are considering whether to make a geographic move or whether to take a certain job, Proverbs 11:14 (ESV) says, Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. If we pray and seek godly counsel, God may reveal His will through other people, or He may guide us by the presence or absence of peace. If we’re thinking about a purchase, the Bible talks about handling money and tells us to be careful with our money (Luke 14:28; Rom. 13:8). When we contemplate marriage, we can find many scriptures to help us know the type of person we should consider (2 Cor. 6:14; Matt. 19:4–6; Eph. 5:33). We can always count on God’s Word and His Spirit to lead us to His will. Sometimes we need to take a step of faith and see if God opens a door we can go through, or if we need to step back and try something else.
When God sees that we want His will more than anything else, He is faithful to reveal it to us. As we walk in His will, we will find that it is better than anything we could ever want for ourselves.
Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me desire Your will above my own. Give me wisdom, peace, and courage to follow Your direction and trust that Your plans are best for my life, amen.
