These notes are from the identically named session at Collegiate
Week in Glorieta. I hope you will benefit from the notes and especially the Scripture. I welcome your feedback.
Notes on the session
God wants you to know His will. He wants to lead you in the way you should go.
Psalm 31:3, Ps. 32:8, Prov. 3:5-6, James 1:5
The biblical model of prayer as seen in the New Testament is "Ask and Receive."
Matthew 7:7-11, Matthew 21:21-22, Mark 11:24, John 14:13-14, John 15:7, John 16:23-24
I. Do we truly want to know God's will for our lives?
We must begin by asking ourselves if we truly want to know God's will. We need to back up a step from asking, "What is God's will?"
We must understand that God's will for us may look vastly different than the life we have planned for ourselves.
II. We must surrender our will to God.
We have to submit our hopes, dreams, desires, future to God.
Luke 9:23-27 - The call to the believer is a call to death to self.
Matthew 6:33 - Our supreme goal is God and a right relationsip with God.
Begin small by surrendering your day to God. Surrender the events, duties, relationships of your daily life to God.
III. The call to believers is a call of sacrifice.
Romans 12:1-2 - We are to be as living dead people in the service of God. We are dead to our own desires and alive for the purposes of God.
Paul and the NT believers were as living dead people. Paul had been "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20) and was living only for Christ. He could say that he did not care whether he lived or died (Phil. 1:21-23). He was already dead in the sense that he lived for the purposes of God. He was dead to himself.
Romans 12:1-2 shows us how to discern the will of God. We offer our lives as sacrifices to God. As we do this, we begin to understand and discern God's will.
IV. We follow God in faith.
We are to follow in faith, which is often opposed to sight (2 Cor. 5:7, Heb. 11:1).
Prov. 3:5-6 - We trust in God's faithfulness to lead us. We follow his leadership.
Ps. 37: 3-7 - We trust in God, delight ourself in God, commit our way to God, be still before God, wait patiently on God. And He leads us to the good land.
Following God is often a step-by-step process. Hebrews 11 is a wonderful chapter that shows us the followship of faithful people. The faithfull followers of old often did not know where they were going or what they were doing. However, they did know God. They listened to His voice and leadership and followed in faith.
We are to train ourselves through the Holy Spirit to listen and discern the voice of God (Isa. 30:21, John 10).
V. Prayer
Prayer and the will of God are connected in Scripture.
James 4:3, 1 John 5:14-15
Pray to know the will of God and for the will of God.
Thoughts to improve your prayer life.
1) Be controlled: Follow the Holy Spirit.
Don't quench the Spirit (Eph. 5:30, 6:18)
Be filled with and walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25)
The Spirit instructs on prayer (1 Cor. 2:10-16, Jude 20)
2) Be clean: Confess known sin and ask God to expose sin.
1 John 1:9
Ps. 139:23-24
3) Be clear: Be specific in prayer
Matthew 7:9-11
4) Be continual: Be persistent in prayer
Luke 11
Luke 18
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