God’s will for our lives centers on salvation, sanctification, and service. They constitute his general will. But we want to know God’s specific will: What should we do for a living? Where should we buy a house? Whom should we marry?

How do we discern God’s will in the details of our lives? When we pray, how do we hear God’s voice leading us?

Before I answer these questions, let me clear up a misconception. Over the course of my ministry, I have spoken to people who were agonizing over specific choices they needed to make. They prayed to God and asked for guidance, but he did not seem to answer. “Why,” they asked me, “does God make it so hard to know his will?”

My answer to this question is twofold. If God wants you to make a specific choice, he will make it known to you. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” God does not take some perverse delight in frustrating his children. IF he wants us to do something, he tells us. Consequently, if God does not provide you specific guidance about a decision, he wants you to make the choice for yourself. Seeking God’s will should not be a shortcut through a rational decision-making process. Part of God’s will is that we use the brains he gave us.

Consider two examples. When the apostles choice Matthias to replace Judas (Acts 1:12–26), they identified the qualifications of an apostle (21–22), selected two men who met those qualifications (23), then prayed to God for specific guidance (25–26). And he answered them. But when Paul gave the Corinthians advice about whether to marry, he wrote, “I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy” (1 Cor. 7:25). In the absence of specific divine guidance, he used his judgment. So should we.

So, how do we discern God’s specific guidance when we pray? Here are my suggestions:

First, when you pray, choose (and regularly commit to) salvation, sanctification, and service. We must be doing God’s general will before he will provide us specific guidance. And God never leads us contrary to his general will.

Second, make sure that biblical meditation is part of your prayer life. God usually guides us by illuminating the relevance of a verse to the choice before us. God speaks in the Bible; prayer enables us to hear his voice.

Third, look for opportunities. God guides through circumstances. According to Acts 16:6–10, the Holy Spirit “kept” Paul from preaching in Asia. Instead of stopping and waiting for divine directions, Paul just kept going until he found an open door.

God has a will for your life, both generally and specifically. When he guides you, make sure to follow him.