Editor’s note – Most of us know the pattern: build the plan first, then ask God to bless it, and wonder later why the doors will not open. This piece walks through the quieter discipline of asking what God wants before the plans are made at all. The author traces that shift through an ordinary week of radio, prayer, and a stranger’s post online, and arrives at the same counsel Scripture has always given: trust Him first, then move.
A few months ago, I was listening to Glenn Beck’s radio program when Jason, who hosts The Insider during the commercial breaks, shared something that stayed with me. He said that when he was young, someone encouraged him to pray that God would bring the right people, places, and things into his life for God’s glory. He began praying that way and saw opportunities come into his life that he believed God had specifically prepared for him.
That really spoke to me, and since then my husband and I have incorporated a similar prayer into our own lives. We’ve been asking God to bring the right people, places, and things into our lives for His glory and to remove or redirect anything that doesn’t belong. More than anything, we want our lives to be aligned with Him.
Today, I was on Threads, posting and spending a few minutes engaging with other people’s content, when I came across something that immediately caught my attention. A woman shared a prayer about being in alignment with God, explaining that she had spent a lot of time trying to force things to happen in her business. When she stopped trying to control everything and began seeking God’s will instead, she said things started changing.
I just sat there for a moment thinking, Okay, Lord, I’m listening.
Am I Seeking His Will or Asking Him to Approve Mine?
I’ve been a Christian for many years, and I can admit that I haven’t always approached decisions this way. There have been times when I decided I wanted to do something, started the project, put my plans into motion, and then prayed, Lord, please bless this. When things weren’t working out the way I expected, I wondered why God wasn’t blessing what I was doing.
But I hadn’t asked the important question first: Lord, is this what You want me to do?
There’s a big difference between asking God to bless the plans I’ve already made and surrendering those plans to Him before I move. I’m learning that alignment means I want His will for my life more than I want my own way. That sounds simple on paper, but living it out requires surrender.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” I especially love the words in all your ways. I don’t want God involved in only the parts of my life where I feel like I need help. I want Him involved in all of it.
And being aligned with God doesn’t mean everything will suddenly become easy. It certainly doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed financial success, a problem-free life, or everything we ask for. To me, alignment means being where God wants me, doing what He’s asking me to do, even when His direction looks different from what I originally planned.
Editor’s note – The distinction matters more than it first appears. Asking God to bless a plan already in motion treats prayer as a rubber stamp; asking what He wants before we start treats prayer as the map itself.
What Alignment Has Been Teaching Me
I’m still learning what this looks like in my own life, but there are a few things that have become increasingly important to me:
➡️Stay in God’s Word.
I can’t expect to recognize God’s direction if I’m rarely spending time with Him. Reading Scripture every day renews my mind and keeps my thoughts focused on what God says, not what I feel like doing.
➡️Make prayer a conversation.
Prayer isn’t only giving God a list of things I need Him to do. I’ve been learning to talk with Him throughout my day, but also to get quiet enough to listen. I don’t want to be doing all the talking and then rushing off before I’ve given myself time to be still before Him.
➡️Stay connected to godly people.
Mature believers in your life can be a sounding board when you’re trying to make a decision. Someone with more experience may notice something you haven’t considered or encourage you to slow down and pray before moving forward.
➡️Slow down and be intentional.
This has probably been one of the biggest changes for me. In the past, I could get excited about an idea and want to jump into it immediately. Now I’m trying to give myself room to pray, think, seek wisdom, and ask whether this is actually where God is leading me.
That doesn’t mean I’ll hear an audible voice every time I have a decision to make. Scripture also gives us principles for plenty of ordinary decisions. But I want my heart to remain surrendered enough that if God closes a door I wanted open, I’m willing to accept that too.
Editor’s note – None of these four habits are dramatic, and that is the point. Alignment with God is rarely one decisive moment; it grows in the ordinary rhythm of Scripture, prayer, godly counsel, and patience.
I Don’t Want to Force What God Isn’t Asking Me to Do
Maybe that’s why the Threads post caught my attention today. Alignment has already been on my heart for months, and then there it was again in front of me while I was doing something completely ordinary. It felt like another reminder to keep bringing my plans back to God.
I don’t want to spend my life forcing doors open and then asking God why everything feels so difficult. I also don’t want to become so attached to one particular plan that I can’t recognize when He’s redirecting me. If something is truly from Him, I want the patience to follow His timing instead of trying to manufacture my own.
I’m sure there will still be moments when I move too quickly. I will probably get excited about ideas and have to remind myself: Pray about this first. I’ve been walking with the Lord for a long time, but I’m still learning what surrender looks like in everyday life.
My prayer continues to be that God would bring the right people, places, opportunities, and circumstances into our lives for His glory. I want Him to close the doors that aren’t right for us and give us wisdom when it’s time to move. Most importantly, I want to be willing to follow His direction even when it isn’t the direction I originally had in mind.
What does being aligned with God look like in your life? Is there an area where you may need to slow down, surrender your plans, and ask God what He wants before taking the next step?
A Word from the Editor
Surrender isn’t a one-time decision; it’s a daily return to the same posture whenever we get ahead of God again. James 4:15 reminds us that our plans should always carry an unspoken “if the Lord wills.” The author’s honesty here is a gift – she hasn’t arrived, she’s still learning to ask the right question first, and that’s a discipline worth borrowing.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Distributed by – BCWorldview.org
Editor Comment: We do need to ask what God wants before we act instead of asking Him to bless what we have already decided… and that order is the heart of true surrender.
This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.