Seeking to Know the Will of God

Recently, I received an email from a young lady who attended the Virginia Maiden's Quest retreat with this question: How would you test something that you wonder if the Lord has told you, so as to know whether it really is from Him or whether Satan is trying to use it to distract you?

This is an excellent question!
I will try to answer it to the best of my ability based on the lessons and principles the Lord has taught me over the past few years, but I am still learning the answer to this question myself in every season of life.

Colossians 1:9 says, "...we do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding..."
This is one verse among many implying that the Lord desires us to know His will for our lives and then to live it out.

As young women, I believe God has given us 3 "tools" for our use in discerning His will for our lives:
1) His Word
2) His Holy Spirit
3) Our parents (or in the case of a married woman - her husband)
And prayer, by the way, goes hand-in-hand with all three.

As we pray to know what God wants us to do in a given situation or what "next step" in life He wants us to take, we must be faithful to search the Bible for words of direction that He will want to speak to us. Also, we should ask for peace from the Holy Spirit where there is a "green light" or a lack of peace where there needs to be a "red light". I have found that He is always faithful to give this peace or lack thereof as a confirmation of His will. And since we should always seek to be under authority, we must pray that the Lord will give the same direction He wants us to have to our parents.

For example, when I was 18, I learned of an opportunity to go to Peru to minister to a missionary family as a home school helper. I felt instantly that this was the dream opportunity of my life! My parents agreed to pray with me about it. As the weeks passed and I earnestly sought God's will in the matter, I received countless verses of Scripture that held special meaning for me and seemed to indicate God's leading to the land of Peru. I also had a peace in my spirit that this opportunity was from Him. After 3 months of praying, my parents also were given peace from the Lord and therefore gave me their blessing to go. All three areas - God's Word, the Holy Spirit, and parental authority - were unified.

At other times in my life, we prayed about a matter, and even though I felt like I had leading from the Bible and peace from the Spirit, my parents did not. I didn't always like it when this happened or understand it. But eventually, I would always see why God used them to correct my misunderstanding of His leading in my life. At one season, when I thought I was supposed to return to Peru, but my parents didn't agree, it turned out that God had Maiden's Quest Ministries in store! I would have missed the tremendous blessing of this ministry and all the opportunities that have come with it if I had not heeded the direction of my parents.

Another piece of advice I would add when seeking to know God's will is to set a "fleece" before the Lord as Gideon did. I have heard Gideon criticized in several sermons for his fleeces, but God didn't condemn him for them. He chose to include the story of the fleeces in His Word for a reason. And several times throughout Scripture, the Lord tells His people to "prove Him" that He may show Himself strong and true. I have found fleeces helpful many times when seeking to know His will.

For example, going back to the original example of when God did lead me to Peru, I had begun praying that the Lord would confirm His will with the provision of 3 specific things I would for the trip: money, a pair of sandals, and a bath robe. When He clearly provided all these items, I had double the confirmation that the Lord's hand was in this decision.

Fleeces could be tangible items, circumstances, financial provisions, etc.
Further examples from my own life:
"Lord, if you want me to take this opportunity, please open the door for me to participate. If not, make it clear that you are shutting the door."

"Lord, if you want me to serve as a counselor at camp this summer, please let them accept my application even though I'm not "qualified" since I haven't been to Bible college for 2 years. If my application is rejected, I'll take that as your sign that this opportunity is not your will."

"Lord, I sense that you are leading me to downsize my piano studio in order to free up my schedule for further ministry overseas. If this is truly your will, please confirm it to me by letting one of my students bring it up themselves that they are unable to continue with lessons."

I have watched God confirm His will many times through the "fleeces" I set before Him. Each experience serves to deepen my faith in His guidance.

Going back to your specific question, you asked for advice in knowing when a potential lead was from God vs. distraction from Satan. God's Word will not confirm something satan is wanting. The Holy Spirit will not confirm it either. And your parents are often given red flags that you are not. So, if you seek to run a possible "lead" through these 3 filters, I believe God will make it clear what His will is for you.

Other questions you can ask are:
Would this opportunity cause me to compromise my beliefs or values in any way? (satan wants you to compromise, but not God)
Does this opporutnity line up with the nature of God?
Will it bring forth fruit to the glory of God?
Does it line up with the purpose God has given me in life?

I hope these thoughts are helpful! My experience has been that God is faithful to reveal His pefect plans to us (in His time) when we are faithful to seek Him. May the Lord help each one of us to hunger and thirst for His best in life!