Simcha Fisher on Discernment

"This year, I've been thinking a lot about what it means to give a decision over to God -- how to discern what God wants us to do, when we have a choice before us. It's one of the more widely misunderstood areas of our practical spiritual life, and I'm still figuring out what it means to live this way. Here are a few things I've figured out about what to expect when I pray for guidance in a decision:

"It doesn't mean: You're no longer responsible for your behavior or your behavior's consequences. Prayer is not divination, where you split open the dove before the battle, and then become enemies with Athena if you lose. When we pray about something, that doesn't absolve us from using our brains to figure out what makes the most sense, and it doesn't mean that we don't have to do any mop-up afterwards, if we do make a mess. Sometimes, the biggest struggle comes after the thing that we originally thought was the major event; and that means you need to keep on praying.

"It does mean: The Holy Spirit works kind of like MSG, enhancing and heightening the 'flavor' of the virtues that you've already worked to develop -- virtues like self-control, prudence, mercy, and self-sacrifice.  After you pray for guidance, you're probably not going to find yourself doing something utterly foreign to your normal nature or inclinations; but you may find that you have deeper reserves of patience than you expected, for instance, or a temporary ability to work harder than you're normally able to work.

"Or it may occasionally mean that God just swoops in and does something amazing and unpredictable, something you really can't give yourself credit for at all.  Sometimes He does that -- who knows how He decides to choose when! -- and all you can do is give Him thanks, and credit."

In a recent commentary, writer Simcha Fisher reflected on what one may expect to happen when he/she asks for God's help in making a decision.

To access her complete post, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Blogs: Discernment: What It Does and Doesn't Mean (21 OCT 14)