How to do God’s Will, a Catholic Perspective
How to do God’s Will
Do you know how to do God’s will? Sometimes as humans we make things more complicated than they need to be! Doing God’s will has two parts: 1-Know God’s will. 2-Do God’s will. So, we need to know and do God’s will.
How do you know God’s will?
“How do you know God’s will? ” is a very good question. We may want Jesus to sit down by us and say, “This is what I want you to do…” and tell us specifically what to do and how to do it!
When Jesus was on earth, He did tell us what to do; we can find what He told us to do in the Bible. The four Gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) share with us Jesus’ words while He was on earth. His sermons and His teachings are in the Bible for us to learn from and apply to our own lives.
Jesus even taught us how to pray: the Our Father can be found in the Gospel of Matthew 6: 9-13.
When we wonder, “What should I do about _____,” we can be sure there is a teaching of Jesus that we can turn to to find out how to handle it.
If you want to read the Bible daily, the post A Bible Reading Plan for Beginners- 3 Different Ways You Can Read the Bible in Just 15 Minutes a Day can help you get started.
How do you know God’s will?
Okay, so after knowing Jesus’ teachings, we may still want to have a one on one conversation with Him about our own specific circumstances. For example, should I have another child? Should I start my own business? How can I keep my patience with my young kids? How can I improve my relationship with my husband, kids, parents, family, friends, etc.?
In desiring to have a closer relationship with Jesus and understand His will for our lives, we want to talk with Him about what is going on in our lives and seek His guidance in making decisions. We do have free will, so He may not tells us explicitly what to do. But, we can count on Him to guide us in the right direction.
Here are some ways we can do that:
Have complete faith and trust in Jesus.
Jesus loves you beyond measure. He suffered and died for you. He offers Himself for you at each Mass in Holy Communion. He wants to live eternity with you in Heaven. Trust Him.
Trust Him when you pray for guidance and answers. Trust Him to lead you in the right paths.
Go to Adoration or pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
Praying in the presence of Jesus in the monstrance or tabernacle is powerful. Take your concerns, questions, hopes, and plans to Him and ask for guidance, help, and His blessing.
In the Eucharist, God Shows His Love for Us
Pray.
Pray. Pray. Pray. Jesus wants us to come to Him in prayer, so meet Him in prayer. Sometimes you may not get the answer you think you will. Other times you may hear silence for a while. Just keep praying and trusting in Him.
How to “Pray About It” has many different ways to pray that you can use.
Good Catholic Books to Read: Improve Your Prayer Life has many resources to assist you in your prayer life.
How can I do God’s will?
In living each day of our lives, we want to live as God calls us to. We want to live out our vocation well and also live each moment well. We may wonder sometimes how we can do this faithfully without being too distracted by little things or even straying from the right direction.
When we read the Gospels and pray regularly, we can learn more about Jesus and grow to love Him even more. When we love Him more, we want to live according to His will.
We can do God’s will by learning more about Him, learning how He wants us to live, and then living it out one day at a time-with His help, of course. We can rely on Him to help us.
How to Love the Sacred Heart of Jesus
More resources to help you in learning about God’s Will
If you are looking for more resources to understand more about doing God’s will, here are some more articles for you.
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