What you need to know about asking God what people want

Note: This is the third part of a series on finding out what people want. If you’ve not followed along, start here.

God wants us to know what He wants, and He particularly loves when we ask how to serve others. Serving is part of God’s nature, so when we ask how to do it, He sees us becoming more like Him.

As He told Solomon…

“Because you have asked this thing… behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart…” -1 Kings 3:11-12

It’s really just a matter of asking… then listening. Then following-through with what He says.

Maybe it’s not all peaches – asking and listening and acting are tough – but the benefits are amazing. This article explains some of these advantages and disadvantages of asking God what people want.

Advantages of asking God

1. He’s right.

Okay, let’s face it – this is an amazing opportunity. We’re talking about the creator of the universe here, and He’s going to tell us what people want. If there’s one advantage of getting God’s advice, this is it.

2. He’s available.

God speaks in a ton of different ways: through people, the Bible, nature, circumstances, and prayer to give a few examples. You won’t always have all of these available, but God Himself is always available.

3. You have to trust because you won’t always understand.

This is an advantage because it brings you closer to God. When you ask yourself or others, you can often slip into independence mode where you don’t need God because you have it all figured out. Asking God totally throws you back into dependence mode.

Disadvantages of asking God

1. You have to trust because you won’t always understand.

This is a disadvantage because it goes directly against what your selfish nature wants to do. If you don’t understand, sometimes you’ll misinterpret what God wants because your own perspective will distort God’s message. In other words, it’s easy to pass our own thoughts off as God’s when we don’t trust Him in our lack of understanding.

2. You have to know how to listen.

God’s not one to give tips and methods. He much prefers the relationship model: you know Him so well that you know what He wants (rather than a method where you know the steps so well that you know what to do). This can be aggravating when you just start learning… and after you’ve been at it a while.

3. It’s difficult to follow-through.

This is the #1 disadvantage that can ruin everything. When it comes down to it, the biggest problem with asking God is following-through with His response. Sometimes we won’t understand, or we’ll miss what He’s saying. Most times, though – like over 90% of the time – we know what He’s saying, but we just don’t obey.

Overall…

This approach to finding out what people want is good because it’s God’s always right – the hard part is following through with what He says. Remembering this, though, will help you confront this problem head on and use God’s help more effectively.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) These go back to the Serving Suggestions for the first part of the series. The first one is to get involved. Know God. Here’s my default advice for doing that.

(2) And the second, of course, is to become aware. Pay attention to how God uses others to serve. Pay attention to what God gives others. Pay attention to how He wants you to serve.

(3) Read the next part of this series: 37 solid strategies to find out what they want.