Discover the will of God for you – Part 17

How Do We Know God’s Will? (Cont)
Two-way communication. Making ourselves ready to receive God’s will.

Read Psalm 85:1-13.

“I will listen to what God the Lord will say…for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints,” (Ps 85:8)

Psalm 85. From reverence to restoration. Reverence leads to forgiveness, restoring our love and joy for God.

The first thing, we need to do, of course, is to pray. Where there is poverty in prayer there will be perplexity in the mind. Knowing God’s purposes for my life would be far easier if I know God better. We can know God better by spending more time with God. Listening to God is part of prayer.

What Did Jehoshaphat Do When Perplexed?
Read 2 Chron 20:1-28

“And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4: So, Judah, gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. 17: You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you. 22: Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 26: And on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berachah for there they blessed the Lord; therefore, the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. 30: Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around,” (2 Chron 20:3,4,17,22,26,30).

How Did Jehoshaphat Overcome His Problems? (2 Chron. 20:3)

When the nation was faced with disaster, Jehoshaphat called upon the people to get serious with God by going without food (fasting) for a designated time. By separating themselves from the daily routine of food preparation and eating, they could devote that extra time to considering their sin and praying to God for help. Hunger pangs would reinforce their feelings of penitence and remind them of their weakness and their dependence upon God. Fasting still can be helpful, today, as we seek God’s will in special situations.

Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord. Faced with the greatest crisis of life (vv. 1-2), Jehoshaphat met a seemingly impossible circumstance in an exemplary manner. He began to seek the Lord through fasting (v.3), gathered together others to pray and fast (v.4), confessed his helplessness (v.12), obeyed the Holy Spirit (vv. 14-18), put his trust in the Lord and His word (v.20), and gave thanks to the Lord (vv.21-22), proclaimed a fast. Seeking the Lord (see 15:2) can be intensified through fasting.

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