How is God speaking to you? Have you ever wished God would make His will unmistakably clear? The truth is, He is speaking far more often than we realize. We only need the seven keys that Ken Ogorek describes in this episode on Knowing God’s Will and Doing It Well.
Ken Ogorek is Executive Director of the Secretariat for Evangelizing Catechesis in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In this episode of Footsteps to Heaven, he chats with Terry Modica about how God communicates with His people and how we can become more attentive to His guidance.
In this conversation with Terry Modica, he explains that discernment is not about guessing what God wants. It is about developing the habits that make us attentive to His voice. As we grow in our relationship with God, we become better able to recognize His guidance and respond with faith and confidence.
If you’ve ever struggled to know God’s direction for your life, this episode offers practical, Catholic wisdom for growing in discernment and learning to hear God’s voice more clearly.
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In this episode, you’ll discover:
- Why God isn’t hiding His will from you
- Practical ways God speaks
- Why you don’t have to wait for perfect certainty
- How the Holy Spirit will gently direct you when you walk in faith
Are you wondering?
- How can I know what God wants me to do with my life?
- How can I tell if an idea or goal is really God’s will or just something I want?
- How do I know when the Holy Spirit is guiding me?
- Why does God seem unclear when I’m trying to discern His will?
- How can I hear God more clearly when I pray?
- How can I recognize the ways God is speaking to me through Scripture, Church teaching, and everyday life?
Key Takeaway: The Catholic Church offers us 7 keys for discerning God’s will for our lives. When we seek His will using these keys He faithfully leads us toward the purpose for which He created us.
⏱ Chapters:
02:47 Ken Ogorek’s Journey to Understanding God’s Will
06:50 God Isn’t Hiding His Will from You
08:50 The Holy Spirit’s Role in Discernment
10:15 Trusting God When You’re Uncertain
12:16 Prayerful Discernment in Ministry and Leadership
15:49 How God Reveals His Will: Seven Ways to Listen
19:23 Listening with Your Heart, Not Just Your Mind
21:43 The Sacraments and Other Ways God Speaks
23:59 Why the Mass Is the Best Place to Hear God
29:06 Breaking the Bread: Preparing for Sunday Mass
34:12 Growing in Faith Through Catholic Study Groups
35:07 Writing as a Calling from God
37:16 The Small Acts That Change Lives Forever
38:50 Your Role in God’s Plan
Excerpt:
Terry: When somebody comes to you and they’re trying to figure out what God’s plan for them is, in your particular environment, how do you lead them? What advice do you give them?
Ken Ogorek: I usually spend a little time just sharing with them a little bit about what I referred to earlier, that there are identifiable ways that God tends to lean on in sharing His mind and heart with us. First off and foremost would be Sacred Scripture, right? I encourage people to make sure that every day they’re reading or listening to and prayerfully reflecting on at least a brief passage of Sacred Scripture.
I don’t want to overstate these things, but let’s just say that’s really important, because sometimes God will use Sacred Scripture to speak to us in a direct and personal way. Sometimes it’s like a bolt of lightning, it’s like a one-and-done or one-off experience. Oftentimes though it’s patterns: we’re immersing ourselves at least a little bit in Sacred Scripture every day, and in the course of a few days we really start to sense that our Lord is nudging us in a specific direction….
He also speaks to us in Sacred Tradition when we read and reflect on the teaching of the Church. So I encourage people—and there are simple ways to do it—but spend a little time daily or frequently just reflecting on one or more basic doctrinal or moral teachings of the Church. There are plenty of resources out there that help you do that, because again, God will use Sacred Tradition….
I also encourage people to say their prayers every day, you know, the classic, the classic memorized or written prayers of the Church. They’ve endured with good reason, so we shouldn’t ever cast them aside, especially focusing on: Is there a word or phrase in the Hail Mary or the Our Father, for example, that’s really jumping out at me today, and why might that be?
And silence, doesn’t God reach out to us at times in silence? So I encourage people to make sure they’re not filling their mind and their head with noise all day long, to really, especially after some time of prayerful reflection, just try to silence yourself internally, which is a challenge for me at least. And to just say, “Lord, please guide my thoughts and feelings in these next few moments. I just want You to lead me and guide me.”
Terry: I want to add something to what you said. You’re describing, you’re recommending that people immerse themselves in Scripture and in the teachings of the Church. But there’s two ways of going about that. One way is it stays in the head — it’s all intellectual. God doesn’t speak to us there. We learn truths that way, but we need the Holy Spirit. We need a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit as much as we need a personal relationship with Jesus. And the Holy Spirit speaks to us in our hearts.
So, when we read the Scriptures, it’s not just to read it, or when we read a Church document, we don’t just read it, we’re asking the Holy Spirit: “What do You want me to learn from this today?”
Ken: Yeah, absolutely, I often say that, as you were saying, Terry, when we read Sacred Scripture, when we read the teachings of the Church, we’re not just learning interesting but odd facts about God, you know, in case we ever go on Jeopardy. As you said, we need to ask our Lord, and really to invite and invoke the Holy Spirit to help us hear our Lord speaking to us in a direct and personal way. Because as you said, that disciple relationship, that relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it’s a real relationship.
And that means genuine two-way communication. We need to share our thoughts and feelings very freely with our Lord. And then, as you and I have been talking about for the last few minutes, we need to be open to how He shares His thoughts and feelings with us, about us, about our lives, about His dream for us.
Just to move on quickly, because you might think, “Oh, that poor person who asked Ken to help her or him discern God’s will, he’s giving them a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation.” But really, I just quickly — again — a little bit of Bible, a little bit of Church teaching, say your prayers, but also don’t neglect a little time of silence. Then just for icing on the cake or to round out the list — and it’s not exhaustive — I, of course, encourage folks to have a sacramental life, to incorporate the sacraments in their life of faith, because those are powerful….
📚 Visit Ken Ogorek’s website: KenOgorek.com
Connect with him on Facebook at https://facebook.com/ken.ogorek
Ken co-authored with Scott Hahn the 3-book set “Breaking the Bread“, a beautiful, full-color, clothbound companion for the Sunday Mass. Make the most of Sunday Mass through reflections on Scripture, the Catechism, and short prayers.
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This episode includes how to hear God’s voice during Mass. Get Terry Modica’s study guide “My Soul Shall Be Healed,” on Pope Saint John Paul II’s encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia.
This episode is a companion to Terry Modica’s workbook “Knowing God’s Will and Doing It Well“.
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I want to know God’s will for my life .