A practical understanding of God’s will in our daily living demands fellowship with God. Those who lack fellowship with God are unable to understand creation and the Bible. Moreover, they cannot have a normal heart, spirit, or mind; neither can they touch the feeling of the Holy Spirit or be led by Him. Fellowship with God is one of the vital keys to understanding His will. A person who understands God’s will must be one who has continual fellowship with God.
To set aside a certain time for prayer and fellowship with God is insufficient. We must have continual fellowship throughout our daily living. Furthermore, we need to grow and increasingly touch the Lord through this fellowship.
When we touch the Lord in fellowship, we thereby have an inward feeling. We should study this feeling in order to understand the will of God.
However, we generally have a common problem which causes us to be unable either to understand the feeling or to understand it accurately. The problem is that we do not believe what we feel. We usually over-analyze the feeling, fearing it is either not from God or a wrong feeling. Often our fear is not that we may be wrong and sin against God, but that the outcome may not be to our advantage. Such a fear proves that we are considering our own gain or loss. If so, it makes it difficult for us to understand God’s will.
Therefore, each time we touch a feeling from our fellowship with God, as long as it is not in obvious conflict with the teaching of the Bible, we should believe and accept it as from God. Even though, due to our childish condition, we sometimes accept the feeling wrongly, we still have to believe that we are wrong in the hand of God, and God will still keep us. Although we may be wrong in a certain affair, yet our being and our spirit are still right, and God is still pleased with us.
Furthermore, there is another factor within us which hinders us from understanding the feeling; that is, the self, which includes our opinions, ideas, prejudices, and concepts. These old things within us always keep us from studying the feeling we obtain while in fellowship or having a pure understanding of it, and thus they keep us from a clear perception of God’s will. Therefore, we need to deal severely that we may not be bound or influenced by self. This allows the Holy Spirit to freely give us the feeling and guidance of God’s will in a manifested and unlimited way.
Another way of knowing God’s will is to study the Bible, because God has revealed Himself and His will through His Word. We need to study carefully God’s great revelations, such as His mysterious plan, the Body of Christ, etc. We also need to study the minor principles in the Bible, such as those concerning clothing, eating, spending money, etc., as well as teachings, illustrations, examples, prophecy, and types. Not only should we study the Scriptures daily, but also for special occasions. For example, when a brother who studies the Bible daily is contemplating marriage, he should also study the principles, detailed teachings, and examples of marriage given in the Bible. Then he needs to apply them so that he may realize the will of God about marriage.
Moreover, we should pay attention to messages given in meetings, read spiritual books, and take heed to the various kinds of fellowship and sharings. Since their origins are found in the Bible and are very applicable and practical in revealing God’s will, they should be heeded.
It is not enough that we know God’s will as revealed in His Word. We must also apply the principles and details in our daily life. Of course, when we apply the principles, we need the anointing. Then we will not be merely following the regulations of letters, but in the light of life walking according to the spirit.
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