First, we must spend time with God. Jesus rose early in the morning and went to quiet places to pray to the Father (Mark 1:35). Just as we cannot expect to intimately know our spouse or children if we never talk to them, the same is true in our relationship with God.

Second, we must submit to God’s will. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10). Here, Jesus told us to seek God’s will before pleading our own requests, and in Luke 22:42 He exampled surrendering to the Father’s will even in times of great distress.

Third, we must diligently study His Word. This goes hand-in-hand with prayer. God revealed everything humans need to know about Him through Scripture. It is the Lord’s complete revelation (Revelation 22:18-19), given to mankind as a gift through the Holy Spirit. It is truly His love-letter to the capstone of His creation (us!). If we don’t study it, how can we really expect to know God’s heart?

For new believers, and even seasoned Christians, studying the Bible can often seem daunting or difficult. It’s full of doctrine, theology, law, and historical narratives that are not always easy to relate to. But God’s Word was not intended to be foreign or challenging to believers because He gave us the Holy Spirit, the Word of Truth (John 17:17), to speak through it and make it come to life.

Jesus said in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Paul also writes in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” Did you catch that? Not “some Scripture,” but “all Scripture.”

Furthermore, Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

And the psalmist writes in Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Praying and studying God’s Word – this is how we come to know God’s will in our life. You will be shocked how many times you come across a passage that almost seems as though it was written for you in that very moment. This is the power of the Holy Spirit!

As we head into another weekend, let’s dedicate a little extra time to sitting at the Lord’s feet both in His Word and in prayer. Get up a few minutes earlier than usual, grab your coffee and your Bible, and retreat to a quiet place. Commune with the Lord and humbly seek His will. What an immense and unfathomable honor we have to enter the Holy Place and converse with the King!