Many people ask me all the time: “How can I know God’s Will?” It’s a very common question. Usually, these people are right smack in the middle of making big decisions. They’re deciding whether to work abroad or not. Whether to take this job or not. Whether to marry this man or not. Whether to get into this business or not.

My big message to you: God’s Will Is God’s Love.

Knowing God’s Will isn’t an intellectual exercise, but a heart exercise. You can study moral theology, natural law, philosophy all you want—and still NOT know God’s will for your life.

Because at the end of the day, God’s Will is God’s Love.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

God is giving us a promise. He said if you seek His will, He’ll guide you. He’ll walk with you.

In Five Star Hotels, I get a kick every time I ask for directions from their staff. You know, those hotel guys and girls wearing suits. When I ask, “Where’s the toilet,” they don’t just say, “Go there…” They say, “I’ll bring you there sir…” When I ask “Where’s the restaurant?” they say, “I’ll walk with you sir…” I really love that. (But one day, I got disappointed. I asked the hotel staff, “Where’s Baclaran?” Sadly, she didn’t say, “I’ll walk with you…”)

When you ask God, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” He doesn’t only say, “Do this…” He says, “Let’s do it together.” When you ask God, “Lord, where do you want me to go?” He doesn’t only say, “Go there…” He says, “Come, I’ll walk with you…”

But Proverbs 3:5-6 also says that knowing God’s Will isn’t about your own understanding. Don’t depend on it. Knowing God’s Will isn’t a mind problem, it’s a heart problem. Many times, we already know what to do. We just don’t want to do it.

God Speaks to Us in Three Ways

This happened in a mental hospital…

In the dead of night, when everyone was in bed, patient #1 announced in a clear voice, “I am Jose Rizal.”

Patient #2 objected and said, “Owwwws… C’mon. Who told you that you are Jose Rizal?”

With great confidence, Patient #1 said, “God told me I’m Jose Rizal!”

Immediately, Patient #3 shouted, “Hey, I DID NOT!”

Today, I’d like to talk about how to know God’s Will.

Let me declare the truth to you: God still speaks today. (No, you don’t have to be confined in a mental hospital to hear God’s voice.) And He speaks through three ways—inner voice, inner values, and inner vision.

1. Inner Voice

God still speaks in miraculous ways.

I’m here today preaching to you because of the inner voice. When I was 12 years old, Aida Manongdo, our prayer group leader came up to me and said, “Brother Bo, while praying last night, God told me that you will receive the gift of wisdom. And you will preach all over the world.”

When we started Light of Jesus in 1980, God spoke to us too. First, my mother asked Aida (yes, the same woman) if we should start a prayer group in our garage. Right away, Aida held my mother’s hands and said, “Let’s pray.” After a few minutes, sister Aida told her, “Pilar, God wants you to name your community, Light of Jesus.”

The next day, mom talked to another friend and prayer group leader, Helen Arceo. After praying together over the phone, Helen told my mother, “Pilar, God spoke to me; He wants you to name your community, Light of Jesus.”

Note: There were no Cellphones in 1980. Aida didn’t text Helen, “If Pilar asks you about the prayer group, tell her the name should be Light of Jesus.” Aida and Helen never spoke to each other. Yet both were telling my mother the exact same thing.

What are the odds? What are the chances that they would say the same name? There are thousands of available names for a prayer group. Lamb of God prayer group. Fire of the Lord prayer group. Pagibig ng Panginoon prayer group. Kaldero ng Diyos prayer group. (They like eating.)

We got our name through the inner voice.

In our modern age, we still experience what the Bible describes in Isaiah… And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left…” (Isaiah 30:21)

A Little Warning

I just want to give you one little warning: There may be some religious leaders who will come up to you and tell you, “God is telling me to tell you—give all your money to me…”

You need discernment.

Here’s the Rule: The messenger’s message must align with the message in your heart. In other words, there must be a confirmation. You also need to hear the same message in the tabernacle of your heart. Or it isn’t from God.

Many years ago, when I was still single, I got the shock of my life. After one prayer meeting, a tall and beautiful young woman came up to me and said, “Brother Bo, God has been speaking to me about you. He showed me a vivid vision. In the vision, I saw that we were married and we had three children.” At that time, I was still single and available. As we talked, I learned that this lovely woman won a beauty pageant in her huge school. Out of thousands of young woman, she was crowned Miss University.

I must be honest with you. It was a tempting proposition. I don’t get courted by a Beauty Queen everyday.

But I remember telling her: “Wow. That’s amazing. I suggest you keep praying about it. Because God hasn’t spoken to me about it yet…”

FYI: I never heard God tell me anything about her.

Why? Because God had better plans for me. He didn’t want me to marry Miss University, He wanted me to marry Miss Universe. I held a private beauty pageant in my heart where I was the only Judge. And in that pageant, Marowe won and I crowned her the Beauty Queen of my Universe.

In other words, I used my mind. God gave me a brain. He must want me to use it.

There are two extremes to avoid. Some insist that God speaks only through supernatural ways. Others insist that God no longer speaks in supernatural ways. The key is balance. I believe God wants us to use our reason, our logic, our minds… But don’t close your door on God’s supernatural ways of speaking us.

Like what happened to me 19 years ago….

God Prepared Me to Be Generous

One night, I had a dream. In my dream, I saw God in front of me. He was so real, so clear, so vivid. And in my dream, God told me, “Give P10,000 to Nestor.”

And that’s when I woke up.

Many years ago, I was a poor missionary. I had very little money. P10,000 was like a million pesos to me.

Nestor was one of our staff workers in Shepherds Voice Publications. So that morning, when I entered the office, I looked for Nestor. But even before I could ask, the first person that saw me said, “Brother Bo, si Nestor, nasa ospital. Inatake. Tumaas ang kanyang high blood! (Sheesh that’s high. English translation: Nestor’s high blood went high!)

I went to the hospital. Nestor told me he had no money. After 4 days, Nestor was discharged—thanks to me.

Can you guess how much his hospital bill was? No, it wasn’t P10,000. It was P9750.

I was going to wonder why it wasn’t P10,000.

I didn’t have to wonder too long. Very embarrassed, Nestor said he also didn’t have money to buy even the medicines the doctor wanted him to take as an outpatient. I said, “Don’t worry, Nestor. I still owe you P250.”

Perhaps God knew that I wouldn’t give him P10,000—that’s why He had to speak to me through a dream.

Next week, I’ll tell you the second way God speaks to us, so stay tuned.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez