Apr 11 - "How Do We Know?"

"Thus says the Lord of hosts: do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you; they are deluding you. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise the word of the Lord, 'It shall be well with you;' and to all who stubbornly follow their own hearts, they say, 'No calamity shall come upon you.'" --- Jeremiah 23:16-32

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We offer up our prayers to God. We wait for an answer. When the answer comes, how do we know it is God speaking to us and not our own thoughts? Is there some clear way to know that we are doing God's will for us and not just going our own way?

I find myself in this situation all too often. I have am struggling with what course of action to take on a particular issue and have offered it up in prayer to God for an answer. Usually, this comes in the form of a "conversation" with God. The prayer tends to wind out into a long dialogue where I eventually come to the point where I think an answer has come. But, given that thoughts can just pop into our heads when we least expect it, I find myself wondering if it my idea or God's idea. I find myself saying, "God, is that You or am I just coming up with the answer I want, not what You want, and pretending it is You just because I offered it up in prayer?"

When these answers come and I am not sure of the source (me or God), it usually means that my will has taken over and pushed God's out of the way. It's all about being truly honest with myself. Am I going down a path that is easy or without conflict, just because that is what I want to do? Or, has the answer God given me present a challenge, a hardship which I will have to ensure and so I choose a different direction?

The truth is, there is no way to know for sure. We can examine the "evidence" and ask ourselves the honest questions, "Is what I am doing good and right?"; "Does my course of action follow the Bible and the teaching of Jesus Christ?"; "Am I building up or tearing down?". But, even though we have evidence such as the Bible or historical records proving that much of what occurred in the Bible was true, we must use faith to complete the cycle of our belief in God. Similarly, we must have faith that, when we believe God has given us a message, answered a prayer or given us direction, He will guide us to the correct end for which His will intended it.

So, listen to the voice of God speaking to you. Be honest with yourself when the answer comes. Ask yourself the tough question: "Is it me or is it God?" If you don't know for sure, keep praying and, I promise you dear friends, eventually your heart will tell you when you have put yourself aside and brought God to the front, letting Him lead you on.