How to Know God's Will: What the Phrase Means, How Different Traditions Decide, and James 1:5 for the Asking

James 1:5, words to say while you decide

The passage Bible Nudge offers for doubt is James 1:5. James writes to people facing trials and invites them to seek wisdom with honesty and perseverance, and the three verses just before it set the scene:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Then comes the verse itself, written to people who are still in the middle of the hard thing:

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.

Wisdom here is practical insight, which is what a choice needs. The verse gives you permission to ask, and describes the giving as generous and without reproach, so admitting you do not know is met without a scolding.

Bible Nudge's note on this passage is headed "Questions are allowed here," and it reads: "James presents uncertainty as a place to ask, not a reason to hide or pretend." For a decision, that means the not-knowing itself can go into the prayer: what you are choosing between, what worries you about each road, and what you still cannot see.

The verse leaves the how and the when open, so it works as a prayer to say while you decide, with one question: what is the clearest question you can bring to God right now? If the lines after it trouble you, Bible verses for doubting God reads them, and what the Bible says about doubt explains the Greek.

What people mean by "the will of God"

The phrase means different things in different traditions. The Catholic Catechism (2822 to 2827) says "The will of our Father is that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." The Reformed Westminster Confession speaks of God's "eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his own will," and Reformed writers separate what God ordains from what God commands. The Catechism also says Christians can "discern what is the will of God," and Catholic practice names vocation, conscience, prayer, Scripture and spiritual guidance as the places where that happens.

The evangelical Garry Friesen, in Decision Making and the Will of God (1980, revised in 2004 with J. Robin Maxson), names a sovereign will, "God’s secret plan that determines everything that happens in the universe," a moral will, and the traditional individual will, and argues most decisions fall within the moral will and a "way of wisdom."

Orthodox Christians speak of grace and human response working together, and Pentecostal churches of the Holy Spirit's guidance tested against Scripture. Quaker Faith and Practice describes "leadings," inward promptings tested in silence, in community and against Scripture, so a leading is not trusted just because it feels strong.

In Jewish teaching, Pirkei Avot 2:4, in Sefaria's translation, says "Make His will like your will, so that He will make your will like His will," which is about aligning a will, not finding a private plan.

Evangelicals disagree on whether God has a plan for each person. Friesen sets aside the traditional idea of one exact path; Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God (1990, with Claude King) stresses God's active guidance and noticing where God is at work, while Kevin DeYoung's Just Do Something (2009) and Bruce Waltke's Finding the Will of God (2002) stress wisdom and obedience. Each reads the same Bible, and the question stays open between them.

The passages that come up, in their setting

Romans 12:1-2 is written to a community, asking for renewed minds "so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God." Paul moves on to humility and differing gifts, so many commentators read it as God's good purpose for how a community lives. The Greek word behind "prove" means to test or examine, which puts the reader's own careful thought inside the verse.

Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding," is a parent's wisdom teaching that Reformed and evangelical commentators read as a warning against self-reliance, with the thinking still expected. Sefaria places the chapter in Jewish reading among wisdom teaching on trust, discipline, generosity and humility, so the trust it asks for sits beside learning and correction.

In 1 Thessalonians the phrase is about life together: "For this is the will of God: your sanctification" (4:3), and "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you" (5:18). Micah 6:8 asks "to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God," and James 4:15 asks for plans made with "If the Lord wills," as do Ephesians 5:15-17, Colossians 1:9 and Matthew 6:10 in their way. Commentators differ over whether these give principles only or guidance for a particular job, move or relationship. Jeremiah 29:11 was written to exiles, and waiting on God's timing reads it there.

People in Scripture who decided

In Acts 16:6-10, Paul's group is kept out of two regions, then "A vision appeared to Paul in the night." In Acts 1:23-26 the apostles put forward two men, pray, and draw lots. Ruth, Naomi and Boaz make weighty choices out of loyalty, custom and plain planning. Moses argues with God in Exodus 3 and 4; Jonah heads the other way.

Nehemiah is the most practical of them. When the king asks what he wants, the text says, "So I prayed to the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 2:4), and then he answers with a plan: a city to rebuild, a time set for his return, letters to the governors so he can pass through, and a letter for timber. In Jerusalem he goes out at night with a few men, telling no one yet what he means to do, and "inspected the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down" (2:13). Opposition follows, and he goes on with the work.

Acts 16 and Exodus record a clear sign; Ruth and Nehemiah record planning with no voice from heaven. Proverbs 16:9 holds both: "A man’s heart plans his course, but Yahweh directs his steps." What they give is company in deciding, often without a sign. How do I know God is speaking to me takes up Gideon's fleece and the parting of Paul and Barnabas.

How some traditions work through a choice

Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises (175 to 188) names three "times" for a sound choice: no doubt at all; consolation and desolation giving enough to go on; and a calm time when reason sets out advantages and disadvantages, then prays. In a Quaker clearness committee, as Parker Palmer describes it, a small group listens while you talk, asks open, honest questions, and gives no advice. For Catholic vocation discernment, Pope Francis's Christus vivit names prayer, conscience, Scripture, community and gifts.

In Orthodox practice, a person often takes a decision to a spiritual father and works it through with him in prayer, humility and obedience. Inner impressions are tested through prayer and obedience, and part of the work is telling apart what you personally want from what may be spiritual guidance. In a Pentecostal or charismatic church, a word or a sense of leading is usually brought to the pastors and the community, and prophecy is weighed by them and tested against Scripture rather than followed on its own authority. Both give the same thing a clearness committee gives: other people in the room while you decide.

A short practice of this site's own:

• Write the decision as one question.
• List what Scripture or your conscience already settles.
• Ask two people who know you to question you rather than advise. A pastor can be one.
• Set a date by which you will decide.

Waiting for certainty has its own cost; a date keeps asking from turning into avoiding.

If you are afraid of missing it

Friesen traces that fear to the idea of one exact "dot" God wants you to hit, and offers wisdom within moral boundaries instead, granting that people still make mistakes. Got Questions says God allows choices such as where to work or live; the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association speaks more of God opening and closing doors.

If you chose and now doubt it, two stories may help. After Jonah ran, "Yahweh’s word came to Jonah the second time" (Jonah 3:1). After Peter's denial, Jesus gives him a charge three times, "Feed my lambs" (John 21:15-17). Commentators read both as the story continuing past failure. Bible verses for regret sits with a choice already made.

If checking will not stop and prayer leaves you more anxious, the International OCD Foundation describes religious or moral obsessions as a form of OCD, and the NHS and Mind describe OCD support. A doctor can talk it through.

Lines meant kindly that land hard

These are things friends, parents and church members say to help. Each has a line, in this site's wording, to say instead.

• "If God wants it, he will open the door." It can leave a person watching for a door that never

comes with a label, while the deadline gets closer. The passages above offer wisdom, prayer and other people to decide with, rather than a door as proof. Instead: "You can decide with what you know, and keep asking as you go."

• "Just pray about it," to someone who has prayed for weeks. It can sound like the end of the

conversation, as if the praying had been the missing piece. Instead: "I will pray with you, and I will also sit down and look at the numbers with you."

• "God has a plan," after a choice they regret. Meant as comfort, it can land as guilt, as though

the plan was there and they walked past it. Instead: "Whatever you chose, you are not shut out, and you can ask again."

• "You missed God's will," or "that is not God's will for you." Both claim knowledge of somebody

else's life that nobody has. Instead: "I do not know, and I am here."

If someone you love says God told them to do something, you do not need to rule on it. You can ask questions the way a clearness committee does: what they heard, how it sits with what they already know, and who else they have talked it through with.

When the decision also belongs with someone else

Spiritual guidance sits beside a doctor, a lawyer, a financial counselor, and a partner's safety and consent. A sign is never a reason to skip treatment, ignore the law or stay where someone is unsafe, and "if it is God's will, it will happen" is no reason to wait out danger.

For abuse at home: the National Domestic Violence Hotline in the United States, Refuge in the United Kingdom, 1800RESPECT in Australia, 016 in Spain, the Red Nacional de Refugios in Mexico and Línea 144 in Argentina. For a second medical opinion, the NHS; for legal help, the American Bar Association's legal aid page; for money in Australia, Financial Counselling Australia. With any of them, a first call can simply be to ask what the service is for, and a church, chaplain or pastor can be one of the two people you ask to question you.

Questions people ask

Three more questions come up often beside this one.

What are the three ways to know God's will?

The lists differ by who is writing. In Friesen's book the three are kinds of will rather than steps: sovereign, moral, and the individual will of the traditional view, which he sets aside. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association lists five things to go by, Scripture, the Holy Spirit, prayer, a renewed conscience and circumstances, and Got Questions adds consecration, counsel and wisdom.

What is an example of God's will?

The plainest examples are the ones the Bible names outright. In the Lord's Prayer, Matthew 6:10 asks, "Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth," and the passages above name thankfulness, justice, kindness and holy living. For a choice between two good options, writers such as Kevin DeYoung encourage faithful obedience and wise action, and then a decision, rather than waiting for a private map.

What is the will of God according to 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8?

Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica, "For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality," and goes on to self-control and to not wronging "a brother or sister in this matter." Verse 7 gathers it up: "For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification." Here God's will is about holy living and how people in a community treat one another, which you can act on today whatever the bigger decision turns out to be.

Where to go next

If a heavy decision has brought thoughts of ending your life, please reach a person now. In the United States, call or text 988; in Canada, call or text 9-8-8. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Samaritans is on 116 123; in Australia, Lifeline is 13 11 14. In Spain, call Línea 024; in Mexico, Línea de la Vida. Elsewhere, including Argentina and Colombia, Find A Helpline lists services by country.

Tonight, write the decision as one question, read James 1:5 aloud once with its question, and ask one person to question you this week. Bible Nudge can offer a passage for anything else. Find a passage.