Seeking God's Will

There are certain practical directions that we must attend to in order to be led into the mind of Christ. First, we must purify our motives. As long as there is some thought of personal advantage, some notion of receiving the praise and commendation of men, it will be simply impossible to find God’s purpose concerning us. Secondly, we must surrender our wills. God does not demand that our wills be crushed out, however He does ask that they say yes to Him. Thirdly, we must inform our minds. God has given us wonderful faculties of brainpower and He wants us to use them. As Wesleyans, we are informed by Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. Fourthly, we must pray for guidance. We need to spend much time in prayer, not only on our knees, but also in that sweet form of inward prayer in which our spirit is constantly offering itself up to God, seeking to be one with the Holy Spirit. Finally, we must wait on God. It is not easy at times (or perhaps ever for some of us) to stand still and wait on God, but we must. We are often mistaken, thinking that God is not guiding us at all because we cannot see far into the future, but this is not God's method. We only know that the steps of a good man should be ordered by the Lord…not next year, but tomorrow; not the next mile, but the next step; not the whole pattern, but the next stitch in the canvas. If you expect more than this you will surely miss all God has planned for you.