What Does God Want? (Discernment)

In our conclusion of the six-part series that reflects on a book written by Fr. Mike Scanlan, TOR, “What Does God Want?”, Dcn. Mike Welker and I discuss two more “c” words that need to be understood for prayerful discernment: confusion and courage.

Some discernment is straightforward, but at other times it is confusing. One can feel pulled in two different directions at once. Some of the questions are easy to answer, but others… not so much. This is to be expected in the process of discernment (if it was obvious, there wouldn’t need to be much discernment at all!).

And then there are times we know what God wants us to do… and are too afraid to do it. This is where we need courage through prayer and the support of others to do the Father’s will in our lives.

Dcn. Mike and I conclude with some practical applications of these principles in ministry. One of the main reasons we felt drawn to talk about this book is because so many people that we do ministry with often ask, in one way or another, “what does God want me to do?” We pray these episodes have given you some great insight and guidance on how to help others answer that question, or has even helped you answer that question yourself.

I’m not sure when I’ll be back with a new episode of Speaking with Deacons (the earliest would be in the fall, I think). If you have any ideas for upcoming episodes or topics that would help you either discern or be more empowered to live out the ministry of the permanent diaconate, shoot me an email at deaconbobrice@gmail.com. And, if you help me cover some of the costs of doing these podcasts, you can “buy me a coffee” by going HERE.

God bless!