Prayer and God’s Will
Prayer and God’s Will
By Stephen Rankin
I recently wrote about the problem of too much subjectivism in prayer. Many of us, myself included, sometimes have strong impressions when we pray. They come with a misleading sense of urgency about their rightness, of their having come from the Lord. Sometimes, these false impressions, if we act on them, lead to no big consequence. Sometimes, they turn out to be big mistakes.
We know that God speaks. Only modern secularists make fun of the idea that we actually hear God’s voice, as the talk show host Bill Maher loves to do. Despite the scorn, the vast majority of the world’s people across the eons have believed in some form of divine speech. One of philosophy’s greatest thinkers, Socrates, bore witness to his experience of receiving messages from a daemon. Not to be confused with the Christian understanding of demons, from a daemon is an oracle, a “sign,” that inner voice.
A big question, then, is, “How do you tell the difference between mere subjective impressions, which do not represent God, and the voice of the Lord in truth? How do we separate the wheat from the chaff?”
In his sermon “The Nature of Enthusiasm,” John Wesley takes up this question. “Perhaps some may ask, ‘Ought we not then to inquire what is the will of God in all things? And ought not his will to be the rule of our practice?’ Unquestionably it ought.” Yes, we should seek for and believe in God’s guidance. We should expect “a word from the Lord.”
In another sermon, “On Providence,” Wesley discusses God’s general providence and God’s particular providence. God’s general providence is shown in the steady rotations of day and night, the turning of the seasons, the law of gravity, etc. God’s particular providence, on the other hand, has to do with specific persons and communities and their circumstances. For example, a person struggling financially receives an unexpected check in the mail from a friend who writes something like, “I was thinking of you the other day and praying for you, and the Spirit of God prompted me to send you this gift.” God’s particular providence for the financially strapped person came through in God’s particular will for the generous friend.
In a parallel way, we can think of God’s general will and God’s particular will. God’s general will comes through loud and clear in scripture. It applies to all believers regardless of personal circumstances. Another of Wesley’s thoughts from “The Nature of Enthusiasm” assists us to understand God’s general will. There he reminds us that God’s general will is our holiness (one of numerous topics we could cover under God’s general will). As Leviticus 11:44-45 reminds us, God’s people are to be holy because God is holy. It applies individually, to small groups, to churches, and even to whole denominations (a much-needed reminder these days). It is universal for Christians. It does not change.
Wesley talked about holiness (God’s general will) through a variety of scriptures. One of his favorites paired Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, with, of course, Jesus’ own direct commentary on them in Matthew 22:37-39 and various teachings elsewhere. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. Full stop. No compromises.
So, Mr. Wesley says, in effect, to know God’s particular will, we should examine our faithfulness to his general will. He asks us, “Does the impression you’re receiving in prayer tend toward love of God and neighbor?”
To explore this question, Wesley gives an illustration: “Suppose, for instance, it were proposed to a reasonable man to marry, or to enter into a new business.” Here, we have two good scenarios where a person would desire to hear clearly from God for direct guidance. Wesley goes on: “In order to know whether this is the will of God, being assured, ‘It is the will of God concerning me that I should be as holy and do as much good as I can,’ [God’s general will, in other words], he only has to inquire, ‘In which of these states can I be most holy and do most good?’” Here the example looks for God’s will applicable to a particular set of circumstances, whether to get married, in the one case, or to start a business, in the other.
Thinking about God’s general will, the question of motive arises. It is a good discipline to ask ourselves about our motives. I’m sure many of you have used the device of putting the “positives” in one column and the “negatives” in another to sort out whether you should take that job offer or buy that house or go to that school. This is a good practice, but, I admit, my lists can be easily skewed by my desires. So, as I’m making such a list, I really need to think about what motivates me in this situation. Why am I drawn? What does it appeal to within me? Can I answer the question about God’s general will in the affirmative?
Back to Mr. Wesley’s advice. Since Scripture gives us God’s wisdom and guiding principles but does not explicitly address every particular situation in Wesley’s 18th-century England or in our 21st-century United States, the answer for God’s particular will does not come explicitly from Scripture alone. So, he says that we must also use reason and experience as we seek to discern God’s will. What does he have in mind?
Reason has to do with good and proper understanding. One needs a good grasp of the situation. One needs to think carefully and honestly about what is before them. It includes talking the possibility over with trusted, wise Christian friends. Take your list of pros and cons, working through it is to exercise reason, and have a friend help you analyze your thoughts and reasons. Does she or he see something that you don’t? What might your friend add or modify? Sometimes others can see our motivations, fears, or blind spots more clearly than we can ourselves, and their wisdom can help bring clarity to our thinking. Reason, then, is not opposed to faith; rather, it is one of the ways God helps guide us as we seek to be faithful and make good decisions.
Experience has to do with more subjective matters. Let’s take the example of a person who is thinking that he should get married. “Experience” could involve asking questions like, “What attracts me to the person I love? What do I feel when I am with her? What happens to my life, my faith, and my sense of calling when we are together?” One might also think about experiences in other relationships, romantic or otherwise. What have I learned from past relationships? What have I learned about myself, my strengths, my weaknesses, and my patterns? Such a step may seem unnecessary, but if we honestly want to know God’s will, work like this needs to be done. God often guides us not only through Scripture and reason, but also through the patterns of our lives, the desires of our hearts, and the ways we see him at work in our experiences. But we must always remember that our experiences will never contradict Scripture or the general will of God. Rather, they help us discern how to live out God’s will in the particular circumstances of our lives.
You can see, then, that discerning God’s particular will takes purposeful effort. It takes time. Although it is possible that we have to make some sort of snap decision on rare occasion (and God is faithful to guide in such moments), the vast majority of situations for discerning God’s particular will should not be made under duress. The process of discerning God’s will itself is a means of grace through which God’s Spirit grows us in holiness. The process itself is a gift and a domain for divine illumination.
To be sure, we must avoid the dangers of misguided subjectivism in prayer. At the same time, and more importantly, we must be confident in God’s speaking to us. He does speak. He does guide. We can grow in proper confidence. Then prayer becomes a joyful adventure of walking with our Lord, and we have the privilege of bearing much fruit.
