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A BELIEF THAT GOD ACTS with purpose in this world must lead to attempts, however feeble, to discern how my own actions might be attuned to God's one action. (William Barry in Presence)

YOUR PROFESSION is not what brings home your weekly paycheck; your profession is what you're put here on earth to do—with such passion and such intensity it becomes a spiritual calling. (Vincent van Gogh, quoted in Edward C. Sellner, Mentoring)

Download our Bible study on Knowing God's Will.

DISCERNING AND ACTING on God's will does not mean you'll never have difficult days or feel lousy sometimes. But choosing to live in alignment with God makes you more joyful, compassionate, and peaceful, even on bad days. (Debra K. Farrington, Hearing with the Heart)

GOD GUIDES us first through his Word, then through our heartfelt desires, then the wise counsel of others, and then our circumstances. At that point we must rely on our own sound judgment … . God gave each of us a brain, and he expects us to put it to good use. (Bruce K. Waltke, Finding the Will of God)

A TALENT may be so great that it propels a person forever down one path, as is the case with some artists. But even for these extraordinary folk, call determines whether and how they use their gifts. (Elizabeth O'Connor, Cry Pain, Cry Hope)

THE BASIC DECISION, after all, is to let God be God, to say "yes" to the work of the Lord, which goes before the church's ability to understand or even perceive it. (Luke Timothy Johnson, Scripture and Discernment)

CIRCUMSTANCE and coincidence may cause us to be in the right place at the right time to do God's work in a specific way. (Suzanne Farnham, Listening Hearts)

GOD IS ALWAYS calling us! But there are distinctive moments in this call of his, moments which leave a permanent mark on us—moments which we never forget. (Carlo Carretto, Letters from the Desert)

THE FACT THAT I THINK that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. (Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude)

OUR ONLY TASK is to seek willingness. This radical willingness will, if we are faithful to it, shatter every idea we have about ourselves; about our inner growth and transformation; about living a Christian life; about contemplation and our relationship to the world; about God. (Maggie Ross, The Fountain and the Furnace)

IN HIS WILL is our peace. (Dante, The Divine Comedy: Paradise)

More Bible Study Helps

Essentials in Knowing God Quarterly Study Plan This ten-session course will help you deepen your relationship with God by discovering what he is like. This course will also teach you how to repent, find forgiveness, and get rid of guilt. Finally, it will help you fill your prayer life with joy and beauty. Read more.

Drawing Near to God Hungering for God's presence in worship. by David M. Edwards In order to know God, you will need to put forth some effort. But if you love Him, it won't seem like any effort at all. When you met your spouse, did it seem like effort to get to know him or her? Read more.