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The Worship Lifestyle

Seeking What God’s Will and Plan are for Your Life

One of the most beautiful things you’ll come to truly understand when you submit your life to Jesus Christ is thatΒ God has a planΒ for your life. Even more powerful is when you realize He’s had that plan all along! Every,Β singleΒ person who has ever been formed in the womb has a place in God’s master plan, even if not every person ultimately chooses God’s plan for their lives.

Every true believer must learn to seek God’s will for their lives and seek to know His plan in order to follow it. After all, His ways are higher than any other (Isaiah 55:8-9) and His plans are for a “future and a hope” for you. (Jeremiah 29:11)

You can never plan anything better for yourself than God can.

Sometimes that is difficult to comprehend when all the other the options in life seem so alluring, but discerning the meaning of God’s will in the Bible for your life will put you on a better path than you could ever put yourself.

man on a rock looking at the night sky

What is God’s Will According to the Bible?

If you don’t know what the plan is for your life, the first place to look is always in God’s Word because the Word of God illuminates the paths you’ll walk. (Psalm 119:105) In God’s Word, you will find two significant things you need to know if life:

  • Who God is
  • Who you are

Hebrews 11:1 says that the Lord, “works all things according to the counsel of His will.” (MEV)

That means that God has a plan where “all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

If you want to walk according to God’s will, it is more important to seek Him for His plan than it is to create your own and ask for His blessing.

If you want to walk according to God’s will, it is more important to seek Him for His plan than it is to create your own and ask for His blessing.

~ Alicia Purdy ~

You cannot discern God’s will by looking at your own skills and abilities, situations and circumstances, your past failures, or even at your fears. The most important things in God’s plan are based on obedience, not what you have to offer.

Remember:

  • God’s will for your life is not based on yourΒ ability to accomplish anything, but is instead based on your willing obedience to let Him accomplish His will through you.
  • God’s purpose for your life is to bring Him glory and to bring the good news of Christ to the world.
  • God’s desire for your life is that you know Him more and continue to invite Him to know you.
  • God’s plan for your life is to glorify Him on any path you walk.

There are many people in the Kingdom who are dealing with doubt or struggle with submission to the revealed will of God because they think it will mean giving up something they desperately desire. When, in reality,Β you could never desire something that is better for yourself than what the Lord has planned!Β 

In the short term, it may mean there are things that need to be sacrificed, but if you truly believe God’s sovereign plan can be trusted, then no sacrifice will cost more than a lifetime lived apart from His will.

…if you truly believe God’s sovereign plan can be trusted, then no sacrifice will cost more than a lifetime lived apart from His will.

~Alicia Purdy

While everyone wants to know what God’s will is, it is easy to become frozen by “analysis paralysis” during a major decision and focus on the tasks instead of the testimonies, and to forget that God’s will in the Bible is simple: Your primary purpose in God’s ultimate plan is to walk in relationship with Him.Β 

How to Know the Will of God

The Ten Commandments in the Old Testament are the expressed will of God’s wise counsel to the world, but true believers seek God’s guidance beyond the basics and simple good works.

You are “called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28) and that calling may change over time. Are you open to a new move of God?

Your willing obedience to walk in faith will set you apart, solidify your identity in Christ, and allow God to do more with your life than He can with those who lock themselves in and refuse to move.Β How can your eyes open to God’s will through revelation?

Here are the primary ways He communicates His will:

  • Your knowledge of God as learned through His Word
  • Your experience with God in His presence through praise
  • Your relationship with God through prayer

Instead of looking back at what God once did, find out what God is about to do and align yourself with that. The Holy Spirit speaks what He hears from the Father and only He knows of the things to come in your life, and He will tell you. (John 16:13)

The best way to know the will of God is to do what great people of faith in the Bible have done- ask! Here is what David prayed:

  • β€œShow me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me…” (Psalm 25:4-5 NLT)
  • … lead me along the path of everlasting life….” (Psalm 139:24)
olive tree at sunrise

What is the Good Will of God, God’s Permissive Will, and God’s Perfect Will?

According to Romans 12:2, you will “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and permissive and perfect will of God.”

There are a lot of teachings about the wills of God – as though God has various “levels” you can live in and skate by with good things or find great success and abundance for attaining His “perfect” will, but that’s not an accurate way to look at this verse.

Jesus Christ exemplified walking in God’s perfect will when He was faced with His human desire to avoid the vicious pain of death and His spiritual desire to do God’s will. His prayer is the perfect prayer for every believer to follow:

“…not My will, but Yours be done…” (Luke 22:42)

If that is your prayer each day and you walk in that, submitting yourself to God’s will over your own, you’ve found the “perfect” will of God for your life. 

What does that look like in practical application? You still have choices and decisions to make in the natural realm, but an aspect of God that many people misunderstand is that God’s blessing rests upon obedience.

It’s not about “signs” or a “right” or “wrong” choice and missing God’s will and ruining your life. The fact is, you cannot do anything perfect on your own. Plenty of Christians don’t bother to seek God’s will, or they don’t obey and then they become disappointed, confused, and angry when things don’t work out.

Don’t fret about the “degrees” of God’s will. Obey His Word, seek Him for your answers, and then make a decision in faith. That is the most simple answer to finding God’s will in your life.

  • You must be led of the Holy Spirit.Β 
  • You must learn to discern God’s voice.Β 
  • You must become familiar with His presence.Β 
  • Then, you must obey.Β 

It is only through the process of transformation into the image of God on your lifelong journey of sanctification that God’s will becomes clearer and clearer, step by step.

The pattern of this world tells you to “follow your heart”, and walk according to your own will, but if you do that, you cannot deny yourself and follow God’s will because the Christian life is one submitted to God’s will over their own.

man holding binoculars

4 Crucial Things to Remember When Seeking God’s Will for Your Life

The Kingdom of God advances through His people who are earnestlyΒ seeking the Lord and areΒ open to God’s sovereign will for their lives over their own plans. God’s people have a lifestyle of seeking His Word for knowledge of the truth and have asked Him for more and have been given more.Β 

β€œBut seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Sadly, not everyone seeks God’s will and not everyone desires more of Him, but God knows those who truly seek His will and He knows who the spectators are.

When it comes to β€œmore” in Christ, the secret is this: there isn’t more! Everything He has and all that He is has been made freely available to His people through Jesus Christ! 

Wanting β€œmore of God” really means giving Him more of you.

~ Alicia Purdy ~

Wanting β€œmore of God” really means giving Him more of you– more of your private prayer time, more of your praise and worship, more time spent with Him in His Word.

If you are trulyΒ seeking the will of the Father, you will find it as He promised. You’ll find the plan. You’ll understand God’s way. You’ll find His purpose.

You’ll even find yourself.

more of Him less of me quote

Here are some things you can hold onto if you are truly seeking the Lord for anything in your life:

Jeremiah 29:13 says, β€œYou shall seek Me and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart.” 

If you areΒ seeking the LordΒ to find Him and to find out more about who He and to find the way He has planned for your life’s big decisions versus looking just to β€œsee” what He will do for you, that is when you will find the Lord.Β 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)

God is always most easily found in His Word, which is an anchor for your soul when you are struggling and drifting in your faith or when you don’t know which way to go. You don’t have to worry about making bad or good choices if you are making God-choices.

John 4:23-24 (MEV) says,Β β€œYet the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such to worship Him.Β God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.” (MEV)

You don’t have to worry about making bad or good choices if you are making God-choices.

~ Alicia Purdy ~

Psalm 14:2 says, “TheΒ LordΒ looks down from heavenΒ on the children of men, to see if there are any who understand,Β who seek God.” (MEV)

Never forget that God is seeking you, too. How can He not find you? He can, of course.

But He is seeking those who invite His presence by worshipping Him, which makes a personal commitment to private praise and worship a necessary and powerful aspect of seeking the Lord. HeΒ dwellsΒ in your praise. (Psalm 22:3, MEV)

When Jesus said β€œask, seek and knock” in Matthew 7:7-8, the actual usage of those words implies aΒ continuousΒ nature:Β Ask, keep on asking! Seek, keep on seeking! Knock, keep on knocking!Β 

  • Isaiah 55:6 saysΒ β€œSeek the Lord while He may be found”, but it is more accurately translated to say: β€œSeek the Lord with the intention that you will find Him.” 
  • Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seekΒ me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Remember, praise and worship are spiritual warfare and there may be spiritual resistance coming against you. (See Daniel 10:12-14)Β 

Worship and praise are actions of faith because they have nothing to do with your situation. In faith, you’ve already gotten your answer, because according to the Word of God sent to Daniel:

β€œβ€¦from the first day that you set your heart to understand this and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard…” (Daniel 10:12)

Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praise of His people, which means that the Lord moves His Holy Spirit’s presence into the midst of the place where His worship is taking place. 

When you worship, you minister to the Lord Jesus Christ with a living sacrifice from your heart of thanksgiving- that is theΒ onlyΒ purpose of worship and praise.

Learn more about the 7 Hebrew Words for Praise and how each one helps create strength, intimacy, and fresh revelation as you understand more about God’s plan for praise in your life!

Remember: SeekΒ His face, not God’s hand and you will find things you weren’t even looking for!

In the Scriptures, to β€œlook” is a passive act of observation, taking in what there is for the eyes to see. (Look at Psalm 33:13) To β€œseek” is to physically pursue something you do not have, until you have it in your grasp. 

Psalm 105:4 says, β€œSeek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continuously.” 

Looking is a natural act of the flesh, seeking the Lord is a spiritual act and the end result of seeking is finding. If you want more of God, stop looking and seek Him according to His Word.

hands folded in prayer black and white

How to Pray for God’s Will in Your Life

The meaning of God’s will in the Bible is seen in the life of Jesus Christ when He prayed to invite His Heavenly Father into His situation on earth. This is what He modeled to His disciples in The Lord’s Prayer and it is the same principle when you pray for God’s will in your own life.

“…Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” (Matthew 6:10, MEV) As for the rest, continually give it to God in your prayer!

8 biblical faith confessions

Jesus said, “What is impossible for man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27) He will work through you, supernaturally, to accomplish the things He needs you to do- and He will receive the glory because you were willing and obedient to His Word

That is why the Lord said to Zechariah:

“It is not by mighty nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in [your] way.” (Zechariah 4:6-7)

The unfolding of the most important parts of God’s perfect plan for you begins with your submission to Him, but He also said that “…it’s not by might nor by power” that His plans are fulfilled. 

The Bible is clear:

  • The Lord directs your steps (Proverbs 16:9)
  • The Lord delights in the details of your life (Psalm 37:23)
  • The Lord establishes your steps (Psalm 40:2)
  • The Lord tells you, “This is the way you should walk.” (Isaiah 30:20-21)

In Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord said, β€œI know the plans I have for you…” He knows the plans you have too.

God has been fully aware of your desires, hopes, dreams and plans since the beginning of time. Are you fully aware of His? At the heart of the matter, seeking God’s plan for your life and all of your decisions is a trust issue.

If you’re seeking the Lord’s will forΒ everyΒ decision you make andΒ everyΒ step you take, you’ll experience the lightened load of not having to work out the details of your life. You’ll simply have to obey God’s plan!

β€œKnown to God are allΒ HisΒ works since the beginning of the world,” Luke wrote in Acts 15:18. God backs upΒ His ownΒ plans with the fulfillment of His promises.

His strength and power are the true spiritual forces that will carry His plan for you through to completion. (Philippians 1:6) Remember, it is never too late with God! The enemy will tempt you to think you’ve missed God’s plan for so long that you are disqualified- that’s a lie! 

It’s not By Might Nor Power That You Will Fulfill God’s Plan for Your Life

Daily give the Lord permission to direct and establish yourΒ steps – every single one – and He will do what He said He would do about the things He has set into motion.

When you choose to follow the Lord’s way,Β HeΒ works out the plans and smooths out the paths and moves the mountains, orchestrates the divine appointments. And when you don’t?

That burden is onΒ youΒ to work them out.

If you’re walking through a season in your life whereΒ what the Lord has called you toΒ feels too big, or if you’ve hesitated or avoided what He wants you to do because you’re afraid, or if you’re feeling weak within yourself-Β you’re in the perfect position for the Lord to show His strength through you.Β (2 Cor. 12:9)Β 

You need the spiritual strength of the Lord to succeed at accomplishing His will and that is more important than anything else you possess in the natural.

You need the spiritual strength of the Lord to succeed at accomplishing His will and that is more important than anything else you possess in the natural.

~ Alicia Purdy

Your intelligence, experience, fortitude, focus, determination, education and abilities will only get you so far before you burn out because when God has called you to something monumental, “It’sΒ not by might nor by power” but by His Spirit.

​Give Praise to Your Provider with the Plan

The Spirit of the Lord is always felt most strongly in praise and worship. Why? Because Psalm 22:3 says that the Lord “inhabits the praise of His people”.

When you worship the Lord, in the secret place as part of your daily lifestyle of praise:

  • You become stronger and more resilient in your faith
  • You become more attuned to the voice of God
  • You become fluent in the language of the Spirit.Β 
  • You develop and produce the fruit of the Spirit.Β 
  • You begin to understand better
  • You find supernatural strength, boldness and courage to step out in faith for your life.

β€œIn everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

It is part of God’s strategy of victory over the enemy to dwell together with you in praise and worship. A lifestyle of praise and worship is part of His will for your life as well.Β 

So many times people think because they prayed a few times that they know the whole and when things change, they fret and wonder what God is up to. While GodΒ doesn’tΒ change, peopleΒ doΒ and circumstancesΒ do.

It is part of God’s strategy of victory over the enemy to dwell together with you in praise and worship

~ Alicia Purdy ~

Everyone has a choice to make and steps to take, but God’s character can be trusted and He is faithful!Β 

The plan for your life is still to bring you a β€œfuture and a hope” in all the things that concern your life. Seek Him step by step and don’t move until He’s given you the plan. If you really do trust Him, wait! His plans are backed by His Word and that’s a promise worth standing on!

​God’s plan is still in effect for your life. Even if you wandered from God’s will as David did or made mistakes as Apostle Paul did in the New Testament – You are still part of the plan!! Every life has a plan with a purpose. Even if people never choose to follow that plan, the purpose of God will always prevail.Β 

Your life is not over. God’s plan is still in effect, but its not by might nor by power that you can fulfill God’s work. 

You are simply not enough and you need His power. How do you get that? Get into His presence and praise Him. Praise and worship will keep you focused on His Word and His way. Pour out your heart. Deny yourself. Confess and repent. Turn. Submit. Obey.Β  It sounds like an oversimplified way, but it’s God’s given way.

DENY YOURSELF Free Printable Coloring Page

God’s perfect will is not a one-time answer. It is a lifelong journey of relationship with Him.Β 

The rest of what God has called you according to His plan is what the Lord will perform through you in your life – and that’s where you need to be led of His Holy Spirit, and then take a step of faith toward what you feel He is leading. 

Don’t let them enemy make you afraid of a mistake, because if God directs your paths, He’ll redirect them too!