The Things That Prevent Us From Discerning God’s Will

It’s been a brutal winter. In the Chicago area we’ve had bitter cold and snow, although nowhere near as much as they’ve had in New England. Two weeks ago we got hit with a storm that dropped 15 inches of snow over a two day period. It was beautiful!

We have a long driveway and I knew it was going to take awhile to clear the snow, but I wasn’t concerned. After our three sons went away to college we got a snow blower. I hadn’t used it this year but I was confident it would start.  It didn’t. I tried everything I could but I wasn’t able to identify the problem. Later I took it to a mechanic who found the problem. A little tiny valve inside the carburetor was clogged. Once he fixed the problem it started right up!

Have you ever had a problem trying to discern God’s will? It may be that there is something that’s preventing you from knowing it. Here are things that you can look for that will interfere with understanding God’s will for your life.

Four Things That Prevent Us From Understanding God’s Will

1. We don’t ask James 4:2. There are many times when the simplest answer is the one right in front of us. Not only should we ask, we need to keep asking Luke 18:1-8. How badly do you want to know?  Keep asking.[Tweet “Keep asking God for wisdom and direction and He will answer”]
2. We ask for selfish reasons James 4:2-3. This speaks to our motives. What is it you want to know? Do you want to know God’s will no matter what? What if God’s will is “No”? If you’re asking for selfish motives God won’t answer you.[Tweet “When you ask God for something you have to want what He wants for you”]
3. We doubt when we ask James 1:6-7. This one is tough for most of us but it’s right there in the Bible so we’d better pay attention to it. Sometimes we say our prayers like we’re throwing a basketball at the basket from half court with our eyes closed. Trust that God will answer you with clarity and wisdom.[Tweet “If it’s hard for you to ask in faith, think more about God than about your request”]
4. We’re full of pride when we ask James 4:6, Proverbs 3:34. We are self-confident not God-confident. Humbling ourselves is the acknowledgement that God alone is able to give us what we want.[Tweet “Before you ask God for anything remember He forgave you for everything”]

God wants us to know His will. Let’s do our best to get out of the way so He can show it to us.

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