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Discovering God's Will
How does the Holy Spirit help me as I seek God's will?
How should I pray as I seek to know God's will?
The Holy Spirit and Prayer
The Holy Spirit has been placed by God within each believer as a divine teacher, to instruct us and guide us. (John 14:26; John 16:13) Paul told the church at Rome that the Holy Spirit was interceding on its behalf to help it do the right thing when the answer wasn't obvious. (Romans 8:26) He unveils the mind of Christ to us. (1 Corinthians 2:12, 16)
It is comforting to know that I am not left to my own clever devices to know the will of God. I am not left in the dark, destined to grope for answers until perhaps I accidentally hit the light switch.
As a member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit has the designated responsibility to open my mind and heart to understand the will of God.
We must never underestimate His role. I encourage you to affirm your reliance on the Holy Spirit as you seek the will of the Father. Don't expect goose bumps; just realize He will provide you with the truth you need.
The realm of prayer is where the Holy Spirit operates most productively. After all, we are asking God to know His will and prayer is asking.
It was the ministry of the Holy Spirit working in tandem with prayer that set the stage for Paul and Barnabas' first missionary journey. (Acts 13:1-3) I cannot think of a major decision in my life that has not been made without a season of deliberate, focused prayer. Petitions presented in a spirit of humility and trust are instantly acknowledged by God and in time answered.
Make sure your prayers are specific. Get to the point. "Lord, I need You to show me if You want Bill to be my business partner." The plainer you are, the easier the answer will be to recognize.
"God insists that we ask," wrote Catherine Marshall in The Adventure of Prayer, "not because He needs to know our situation, but because we need the spiritual discipline of asking . . . The reason many of us retreat into vague generalities when we pray is not because we think too highly of God, but because we think too little."
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