Knowing God's Will: Finding Guidance for Personal Decisions

by M. Blaine Smith

Overview

How can we discover God's will for the complicated decisions of time, money, relationships, education and career? How do we know which is best among a variety of "good" options? In this updated and substantially expanded edition, M. Blaine Smith shows how God unfolds his plan for our lives—through the Bible, prayer, reason, abilities, circumstances, desire and the counsel of others. He packs each chapter with stories which illustrate how he and other Christians have learned to make decisions that please God.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830813087
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	11/05/1991
Edition description:	Second Edition, Revised, Second Edition
Pages:	249
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.72(d)

About the Author

M. Blaine Smith (M.Div., Wesley Theological Seminary; D.Min., Fuller Theological Seminary) is an ordained Presbyterian minister who lectures widely on topics of guidance and God's will, Christian living, and personal growth. A frequent guest on Christian radio programs, Smith has also appeared twice on The 700 Club. His lectures have been recorded for Guidance by the Book, part of a home-study course produced by the Christian Broadcasting Network.In 1978 Smith founded Nehemiah Ministries with the goal of "helping Christians understand God's guidance in their lives and realize their personal potential." The organization's bimonthly newsletter, seminars, articles, books (many of them available from InterVarsity Press) and website have benefited many Christians around the world!

Table of Contents

Foreword

Part 1: First Considerations
1. A Critical Concern
2. Types of Decisions We Face
3. Seeing God's Will Dynamically
4. Step-by-Step Guidance in Scripture
5. The Promise of Guidance

Part 2: My Responsibility for Knowing God's Will
6. The Call to Responsibility
7. Are You Willing?
8. The Unique Role of Prayer
9. Searching the Scriptures
10. Thinking Things Through

Part 3: Exceptions and the Rules
11. Supernatural Guidance
12. The Place of Prophecy
13. Putting Out a Fleece
14. Inward Guidance

Part 4: Beginning to Decide
15. Considering Personal Desires
16. Evaluating Abilities and Gifts
17. Assessing Open and Closed Doors
18. Weighing the Counsel of Others
19. Finally Deciding

Appendix 1: Authority Relationships and the Will of God

Appendix 2: Does God Have a Will for Our Personal Decisions?

Notes

Editorial Reviews

"As we move toward the next millennium, nothing will be more important than knowing and doing God's will. I have not only used Blaine Smith's work in this key area myself but recommended it to hundreds of others."

David J. Gyertson

"Here is a presentation on knowing God's will that is carefully thought through, well-annotated, comprehensive, exceedingly practical and compellingly readable."

Richard Halverson