Determining God’s Will Through Prayer - Part 2

Determining God’s Will can be like deciphering code.  In Part 2, this podcast adds four more ‘stairs’ in our own ‘Stairway to Heaven’ - designed to help unearth God’s remarkable – and personal will. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Series Context
• 2:13 Recap Of Steps One To Four
• 2:41 Step Five: Open And Closed Doors
• 5:15 Double Confirmation Explained
• 8:43 Step Six: Divine Guidance Grid
• 12:05 Joseph And Pharaoh: Source, Meaning, Action
• 16:00 Ananias And Sapphira: Discernment And Integrity
• 20:12 Paul’s Macedonian Call And Detours

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:13

Podcast is where we explore how to idea prayer and locations for life and ministry.

SPEAKER_02: 0:32

Hello, and welcome to season two, episode three in the How Prayer Works Podcast. This episode is part two in our mini-series in determining God's Will through prayer. We use the analogy of the song Stairway to Heaven based on Jacob's ladder found in Genesis chapter 28 in the Bible. We use the metaphor of a ladder with various steps, each ascending higher. And we use this analogy to help us to determine what God's will is, each step a different part in the process. In part one, in our last podcast, we looked at the first four steps. Step one was God's word. When it comes to specific about God's will, 95% of what we need to do or respond is already written in the Bible, so we must start there. Your word is a light unto my feet and a lamp unto my path. The second step we looked at was best practices. Best practices is a common term for a set of guidelines, ethics, or ideas that represent the most efficient, prudent course of action in any given situation. They are established through experience, trial and error, and sometimes research. The third step we looked at was asking for prayer. It is very important to confide in some trusted friends or advisors and explain the potential course of action you are considering to undertake and ask them to pray for you about this. The fourth step was seeking godly wisdom and counsel. Proverbs 1114 says in the ESV, where there is no guidance, people fail or fall, but in an abundance of counselors, there is safety. Well, this episode, part two of our own stairway to heaven, understanding how prayer can help determine God's will, we will look at stairs number five, six, and seven. Specifically, the stair of circumstances, meaning open door, closed doors, and double confirmation, the stair of processing and understanding divine guidance, the biblical examples, and finally the Holy Spirit's role in helping us to process his will for our lives. So let's jump in now with the fifth step in our stairway to heaven circumstances. So this has two parts to it. Basically, the first part is open doors, closed doors. The open door, closed doors paradigm is often cited as a reason for understanding God's will. And it goes like this you want to move forward in a certain direction, and the door opens wide. At every turn, things seem to work out one thing after another. It is like a knife moving through butter. So it seems like a given that this is the course of action that God wants you to take. Or conversely, when you try and walk through a door, it hits you or slams shut or refuses to budge. You try and force it, but it doesn't work. You try another approach and the door shuts again. After a while, you notice the patterns of the shut doors and you determine this must not be what God wants. Occasionally, however, you will need to determine if the door closing is a test of your of your own perseverance and you need to plow through. If it is a test, after persevering, the door should start opening wide again. So, further to that, we have the concept of double confirmation. The principle of double confirmation is also one where God can divinely orchestrate circumstances to establish and confirm God's will. And this was made clear in the Robert Clinton's book called The Making of a Leader. A biblical example of double confirmation is when God had a plan to radically include the Gentiles as part of the plan of salvation. But God had to overcome a lot of resistance and cultural backgrounds in the Jewish mind. So God gave Peter a vision, a radical vision that went against every cultural norm that Peter knew. Meanwhile, in another galaxy, God had moved a military leader, a non-Jew, to want to connect with Peter and learn more about the way, that is, Jesus. His soldiers went to fetch Peter. Putting the two together, that is, this vision that Peter had on the rooftop, and all this unexpected uh invitation from the soldier who was a Gentile, Peter concluded that God was about to make a new paradigm that Peter was to challenge. So often when God wants to confirm a particular destination, he often combines unrelated or disconnected or disparate circumstances to make a point. We saw this in our own lives when we were wrestling with a potential vocational move. Someone a thousand kilometers away whom I've not spoken to in many years felt compelled to share something with me that made no sense to them but did a lot to me. In fact, there were three things that was shared with me, confirming through these unusual circumstances where God was leading. After we weighed everything and noting this double confirmation and the alignment of other stairs, we made the decision, which, in hindsight, has proven to be the right one, impacting our family positively for many years now. So that is the stair of open doors, closed doors, and using the principle of double confirmation. So let's go on to stairway number six. And that is the one of divine guidance. Now it's important to remember here again that 95% of what we need to know is already in God's Word. For specific direction, that is not specifically orchestrated or ordained in Scripture, but rather we have the principles that we need to follow. So we can be on good grounds, biblically speaking, morally speaking. But for specific direction, we see, for example, David in the Old Testament relying heavily on getting specific information and direction from the Lord via his priests. So the principles of revelation, interpretation, application go like this. When we think that God is leading us to take a step or to go in a certain direction, we can use the following grid of revelation, interpretation, and application to help us determine the validity of it, the source of it, and if it is in God's will or not. So let's give some examples. But first, before we do that, the overriding principle is from 1 John chapter 4, where we're to test the spirits. And based on the principle of testing the spirits, we need to be able to determine truth from error. The testing of the spirits, one way we can do it is through the the template of the revelation, interpretation, and application. So revelation means what is this horse? Interpretation means what does it mean? And then application, well, what do we do with it? So let's look at some scriptural examples and try and make sense of this. For example, in Exodus chapter 41, we read that Pharaoh, the emperor of Egypt, had two separate dreams. He was convinced of the significance of them, but he was unable to interpret them. Nor were his wise men able to interpret these dreams. Pharaoh's cupbearers remembered that when he was in prison, he had a dream, and Joseph was able to correctly interpret it, as well as the one from the chief baker. So this information was relayed to Pharaoh, and then Pharaoh summoned Joseph, and then the dream was told. So the first grid of Revelation, what is the source? After Pharaoh recounted his dream, Joseph immediately affirmed that the source was God. The interpretation, what does it mean? Joseph told Pharaoh that the two dreams that Pharaoh had were one and the same. Joseph explained that the two dreams were God's way of communicating to Pharaoh that a famine had been firmly decided by God. Joseph gave a clear interpretation that the seven healthy cows and seven full heads of grain represented seven years of abundance, and the seven lean cows and withered heads of grain represented seven years of famine. So that's the interpretation. And then the application. What do you do with that information? And often this is an overlooked step. So the application of this story was that Joseph immediately launched into telling Pharaoh what he must do in order to save the people. And in this case, it turned out two nations, Egypt and Israel. And this plan included appointing a wise person to administer the plan. Now Pharaoh, being the shrewd person that he was, recognized in Joseph someone in whom the Spirit of God resided and appointed him to be the administrator. So in this case, the revelation from God, the interpretation, clarifying what it meant, and then the application all lined up, as I said, saving two nations. The second example is funds for mission advancement. Ananias and Sapphira had sold a piece of property and lied about putting the whole price at the disciples' disposal. Perhaps they sought to emulate the renowned church leader Barnabas, who had sold a plot of land and placed it again at the disciples' feet for distribution as they saw fit. In this case, the revelation, what is the source? Peter determined that what was going on was not of God. In fact, Satan had actually filled their hearts. We are not told how this information came to Peter or by what process he deduced this by, but it was clear Peter determined the revelation, i.e. the source, was not of God. The interpretation, what does it mean? Peter's discernment led him to the conclusion that Ananias and Sapphira had lied and that they desired to be praised for their gesture. So then the application of this story, what do you do with this information? Peter first gave each of them an opportunity to be able to tell the truth separately. Instead of telling the truth, they both lied twice, one in presenting the money, and secondly in saying what the price was that they supposedly received for the land. Peter confronted the husband first and then the wife, and in his exhortation to them, he gave a clear principle of New Testament stewardship that the money was theirs to do as they pleased, and that there was no compulsion. Their sin was lying, specifically lying to the Holy Spirit, no small thing. Peter then announced the judgment, death. We are not told how he came to this judgment, but he did. Consequently, both Ananias and Sapphira died, and their bodies were carried out. Great fear of the Lord spread throughout the church, Acts 5 tells us, and the purity of the church was presented. By the way, as an aside, I heard almost an exact replica of this story in uh in a country uh overseas, and uh great fear swept over not only the church, but the whole region, and it really sparked a revival of uh of the church in that country. So there's a second example revelation, interpretation, and application. The third example is mission and advancement to Europe. Paul had a vision to go to Asia. He was blocked both by Satan and by the Spirit of Jesus. He may have asked questions like, is Satan blocking me? Is God allowing Satan to block me? Or is it God's ultimate will even to use the enemy like Job? Then Paul received a vision to go to Macedonia. This time he immediately concluded the source was God. We're not told how he determined that it was God rather than Satan. But the revelation was testing the spirit. What is the source of this information? Well, we're not told exactly, but we are told that Paul listed the gift of the sermon as one of the spiritual gifts God has given to believers. Evidently it was one of his gifts, illustrated by his understanding that the slave girl in Acts who told the future and followed Paul and Silas around was directed by the enemy, as we see in chapter 16. At any rate, when he was blocked from going to Asia, he was convinced it was of God. Then the interpretation, prayer. What does an information mean? It appears though God was closing one door, even though it was one that was further fervently desired by Paul, and God was opening another one. Application. What should Paul do with this information? Should he should he wait to go to Macedonia? Should he go and expect hardships? Paul concluded it was the Lord's will for him to go to Macedonia. We know in hindsight that from Macedonia the gospel came to Europe and then to North America. So here we see the revelation, we see the interpretation, and then we see the application, and the rest of the story is, as they say, gospel history, church history. So this kind of process and discernment to understand where God is working and what to do about what we think God wants us to do is is a familiar concept with Christians, but not so much how to determine it, how to process things. So training and discernment as it relates to advancing Christian mission and strategy, and personally too, could be quite instructive for us. So that is the stair of the guidance of the Lord, the Holy Spirit. The seventh and last stair that we wanted to look at is Holy Spirit witness. What does that mean? Well, that's where we are told that the Holy Spirit uh gives us as a, as it were, like a divine deposit of the confirmation that uh the Holy Spirit not only lives in us but our ultimate union with the Lord in heaven. And we are told to test the spirits, yes. And we determine whether or not the Lord is speaking to us through our whole through his Holy Spirit, or if it is of the flesh, our own sinful nature, just our own mind, or if it is of the enemy. And so how do we determine the Holy Spirit witness? Well, we hold it up to the Lord as it were, potential action or direction. And as you hold it up to the Lord, to his light, you pray for the Lord to confirm this potential direction. So as we as we hold it up, one of three things happen. As we pray, in light of God's word, circumstances, and uh the other steps that we have discussed already, and also honestly asking the Lord to search our heart and our motives, we realize that the potential action or course of uh of what we want to do is more for us than God's glory or honor. And so as we hold that particular desire into the light, then what happens is first Samuel tells us the prayer falls to the ground. The prayer is dead because it does not pass the muster of the motive test or not God's glory ultimately. It's really hard because often we can disguise wanting God's glory for our own personal uh recognition or self-aggressment. So sometimes as we pray, also we don't sense anything. And this is a hard one, too. We don't sense uh inner witness of the spirit or something else. And if we don't, if it's just blocked, this could mean it is not of God. It is just from the flesh. But generally speaking, it's a yellow light, meaning that you should not proceed. However, with some things, as you continue to pray and you've processed your motives to the best of your ability, and you ask the Lord to search your heart, you sense the inner peace that 1 Thessalonians 5.17 says, about peace being the umpire in our hearts. Or from Philippians, do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and mind of Christ Jesus. And so as you pray, then that deep sense of peace and that confirmation of God's Spirit can come into your heart. You read in the scriptures that it seemed right to us and to the Holy Spirit. So at that moment, that prayer has been energized by the Holy Spirit and it will be answered and fulfilled. It is like God's Spirit meeting with our spirit, and the prayer is a fully formed prayer answered. It can come into physical reality in a millisecond, in a day or two, could be days, weeks, months, decades, hundreds of years. But during that time, we can learn to pray through using the spiritual tools that God has given us, which we have described in earlier podcasts and is outlined more in the prayer pattern books number three. So, in summary, you hold that up to the Lord. One of three things happens. You, as you pray, you realize your motives are not correct, it falls to the ground, the prayer is dead, you realize that course of action is not the right one to go on. Second of all, you just feel zero or numb, you don't have any sense of direction one way or the other, intentionally saying that this is of the flesh, this is not God's timing, and this is not what God wants to answer in terms of a prayer. Or three, as you pray, you have that inner witness up by the Holy Spirit to your heart, energized, and you feel that this is you feel the peace of Christ. And so then you know and you can have confidence that that prayer is fully formed. It may or may not come through tomorrow or uh in the days to come. But, however, as you pray through, as you learn to take that prayer and just pray, believing that it will happen, has been the testimony of saints over the centuries. So, in summary, we have looked at the last three stairs in our stairway to heaven, seeking how we can understand through prayer we can determine God's will. As we said at the outset in this little mini-series on determining God's will through prayer, we are not God. Understanding his ways is not an exact science, and we see through a glass darkly. However, in climbing the stairway to heaven, with the stairs being God's word, following best practices, asking for prayer, seeking out counselors, and then in today's episodes, understanding open doors, closed doors, including discerning circumstances and the principle of double confirmation, understanding divine guidance through the principles of understanding the source of the idea and revelation, interpretation and application, revelation. What is the source of this? Is it God, the enemy, or our flesh, ourselves, interpretation? What does it mean? And application, what do I do with it? And finally, with a witness of the Holy Spirit through the model that we laid out. Not only are these stair steps to better understanding God's will for you and for the organization or whatever the you're you're thinking about or praying about, but they can also be protective and keep you from making some very big mistakes. I have seen lives and ministries either destroyed by not heeding these steps or not doing all of the steps, or conversely, seen divine blessing exponentially helping and uh God's purposes and will be carried out as people have correctly discerned what God's will and steps taken in faith that proved God was in it. Well, I trust that this podcast on trying to understand better and determining God's will will be instructive for you. Be sure and drop us a line in terms of how we can uh encourage you in the future or how this podcast has impacted you. God bless you.

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Thanks for listening to the How Prayer Works Podcast with Dr. Dan Bates. If you're looking to dive deeper into your prayer life, head over to prayerpatterns.ca or follow us on the How PrayerWorks Instagram page. There you'll find helpful resources, guided tools, and more on the practice and power of prayer. You can also support Dr. Dan's work by picking up his seven book series available through the website and through Kindle. If you have feedback or suggestions for future episodes, reach out to us at patternsstrategy at gmail.com. Join us on this journey to discover God's riches through prayer.