‘Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip...’ That’s a powerful way to start a story but if you’re anything like me you may be asking God: “Where’s my angel?”. So often in life it would be great to have clear guidance from God about what he wants us to do. While looking at this verse in isolation may give us the impression that the first disciples had Angelic secretaries guiding their every step, a broader reading of the Bible tells us that followers of Jesus need to work a little harder to discern God’s will.

Growing in discernment is a big part of growing as a disciple, and a big first step in discerning God’s will is prayer. From Peter to Paul we see that disciples of Jesus spent time in daily prayer talking to God and asking for guidance. Prayer should be our daily starting point for all our decisions. Sometimes God will speak to us through a sign, vision, or angel, but more often than not we won’t get that sort of guidance in how we should live life. Fortunately prayer helps to orientate the thoughts of our hearts towards God and opens our minds up to the many ways God guides us.

As we pray for God to guide us, we’ll often be more open to perceiving the way he wants us to go. God has given us common sense, the Bible to teach us, friends and family to run our ideas and choices past, and our church family to support us and guide us. God may not give us personal angel secretaries but he guides us in all sorts of ways. Let’s keep praying for discernment and God’s guidance each day. DB

Questions

1. Who in the passage is receiving guidance and how is it being given?

2. How could your prayer life improve in order to help you discern God’s will for your life?

3. Who can you call on to help you make decisions? How can you help people in your life to grow in discernment?

Prayer

Guiding God, thank you so much for the various ways you guide your people. Help us to be open to your guidance and obedient to your will and ways. Thank you that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Amen!