Is it wrong to ask for a sign?

[Fallingupwards]

Hi guys,

I'm aware the Bible says asking for a sign and putting God to the test is wrong, but would that apply if I were to ask God to confirm something for me?

I'm trying my best to rely on God rather than my own understanding, and trying to pray and fast more often and to do the right thing, but I'm not sure if I'm doing everything correctly.

I've read several posts of people saying that God answered their confirmation requests, and I was thinking of doing the same thing just to make sure I'm on the right track. Some of the ideas I have are really minor, and I doubt anyone around would notice if God were to respond to my request.

If you have any similar stories of God confirming things to you, then please share them. I'd love to hear what you experienced and/or saw.

Thank you.

 

[Edyos]

I do not think it is wrong. Let me explain why.

sometimes in life, you will get into this place where you don't know where to go anymore. there are many paths to take, you are confused and not sure which one will be the best for you.

Sometimes we do not hear God's voice directing us, it can be for many reasons. that is when we should ask for direct direction from God.

I give you example from the bible.
Abraham's servent Eliazer was sent to find a wife for Issac in Genesis 24.
Now while he was sitting next to the well, he was not sure which woman to pick. There were many young womans coming to this well daily, looking to draw water from it.

this was a very confusing situtaion and Elizaer needed direct answer.

So what he did, he asked God the following:
"Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

Back then it was normal for a young woman to give water to passengers who where next to the well at the same time they were there.

But here we see Elizaer asking for something extra, something that never happened. It is for the woman to offer drinks for the animals that are with the shepered or passenger.

You see, He asked for a sign so he can be sure it is the right one.

I did this in life many times, For example. I was playing this simple game, but i felt that it is wasting my time. The game itself is not bad, but i was not sure if God agree with it.

So I prayed, God if you want me to stop playing this game, make it stop working. The chances were extreamly low for a game to stop working for no reason.
But a day later that exacly what happend. The game simply wont run and i kept getting error message. No matter how many times i clicked.

We need specific directions from time to time and we can ask God to show us.

I hope this help you. Feel free to ask further questions.​

 

[Fallingupwards]

I do not think it is wrong. Let me explain why.

sometimes in life, you will get into this place where you don't know where to go anymore. there are many paths to take, you are confused and not sure which one will be the best for you.

Sometimes we do not hear God's voice directing us, it can be for many reasons. that is when we should ask for direct direction from God.

I give you example from the bible.
Abraham's servent Eliazer was sent to find a wife for Issac in Genesis 24.
Now while he was sitting next to the well, he was not sure which woman to pick. There were many young womans coming to this well daily, looking to draw water from it.

this was a very confusing situtaion and Elizaer needed direct answer.

So what he did, he asked God the following:
"Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

Back then it was normal for a young woman to give water to passengers who where next to the well at the same time they were there.

But here we see Elizaer asking for something extra, something that never happened. It is for the woman to offer drinks for the animals that are with the shepered or passenger.

You see, He asked for a sign so he can be sure it is the right one.

I did this in life many times, For example. I was playing this simple game, but i felt that it is wasting my time. The game itself is not bad, but i was not sure if God agree with it.

So I prayed, God if you want me to stop playing this game, make it stop working. The chances were extreamly low for a game to stop working for no reason.
But a day later that exacly what happend. The game simply wont run and i kept getting error message. No matter how many times i clicked.

We need specific directions from time to time and we can ask God to show us.

I hope this help you. Feel free to ask further questions.​

Wonderful and informative post, thank you Edyos.

 

[joinfree]

Hi guys,

I'm aware the Bible says asking for a sign and putting God to the test is wrong, but would that apply if I were to ask God to confirm something for me?

I'm trying my best to rely on God rather than my own understanding, and trying to pray and fast more often and to do the right thing, but I'm not sure if I'm doing everything correctly.

I've read several posts of people saying that God answered their confirmation requests, and I was thinking of doing the same thing just to make sure I'm on the right track. Some of the ideas I have are really minor, and I doubt anyone around would notice if God were to respond to my request.

If you have any similar stories of God confirming things to you, then please share them. I'd love to hear what you experienced and/or saw.

Thank you.

 

[IMMANUEL xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi guys,

I'm aware the Bible says asking for a sign and putting God to the test is wrong, but would that apply if I were to ask God to confirm something for me?

I'm trying my best to rely on God rather than my own understanding when it comes to certain situations, and I'm also trying to pray and fast more often and to do the right thing, but I'm not sure if I'm doing everything correctly.

I've read several posts of people saying that God answered their confirmation requests, and I was thinking of doing the same thing just to make sure I'm on the right track. Some of the ideas I have are really minor, and I doubt anyone around would notice if God were to respond to my request.

If you have any similar stories of God confirming things to you, then please share them. I'd love to hear what you experienced and/or saw.

Thank you.

I was sitting in church and the pastor was doing his thing still to this day do not know what the pastor was teaching because all I saw was me up on stage teaching the word after the service I told God I'm not worthy to be a leader and a pastor, but God confirmed by giving me a scripture passage saying that it's "my calling" to be a leader and a pastor. so I say ask away he can not only say yes but also no but you will never know unless you ask I'm dyslexic and I live by a saying "a person who asks a question is a fool for five minutes but a person who never asks s a question is a fool for life" so always ask questions and be brave i

 

[mukk_in]

There have been instances where the Lord commanded His people to test Him. I can think of a couple:

1) Regarding tithing - Malachi 3:10

2) Isaiah's admonition to unbelieving Ahaz - Isaiah 7:11-12.
So, I guess it depends on God's will. But, generally we are not to test the Lord (Matthew 4:7). Peace in Christ.

 

[eleos1954]

Hi guys,

I'm aware the Bible says asking for a sign and putting God to the test is wrong, but would that apply if I were to ask God to confirm something for me?

I'm trying my best to rely on God rather than my own understanding, and trying to pray and fast more often and to do the right thing, but I'm not sure if I'm doing everything correctly.

I've read several posts of people saying that God answered their confirmation requests, and I was thinking of doing the same thing just to make sure I'm on the right track. Some of the ideas I have are really minor, and I doubt anyone around would notice if God were to respond to my request.

If you have any similar stories of God confirming things to you, then please share them. I'd love to hear what you experienced and/or saw.

Thank you.

Is it a "test" (prove) or seeking His guidance? Is the "something(s)" in line with scripture and His teaching and principles? Motivation for the "test"? These are
rhetorical questions, questions to ask yourself and think about, pray about.

God Bless

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Hi guys,

I'm aware the Bible says asking for a sign and putting God to the test is wrong, but would that apply if I were to ask God to confirm something for me?

I'm trying my best to rely on God rather than my own understanding, and trying to pray and fast more often and to do the right thing, but I'm not sure if I'm doing everything correctly.

I've read several posts of people saying that God answered their confirmation requests, and I was thinking of doing the same thing just to make sure I'm on the right track. Some of the ideas I have are really minor, and I doubt anyone around would notice if God were to respond to my request.

If you have any similar stories of God confirming things to you, then please share them. I'd love to hear what you experienced and/or saw.

Thank you.

God has sometimes confirmed or denied things to me via signs. I don't believe it is wrong. I will share one. I copied this off my website.

On the 10 of October 2012 the LORD prevented us from making a bad financial decision. Me and my wife had found a house that we thought could be a good investment for our future. But our pastor prayed about it and felt that it was not going to be a good investment. So I prayed that if it was not a good investment God would get the bible to open randomly to James 4:13-15, otherwise the bible would open to the verse in Mal 3:10 about God blessing our finances. I opened my bible on the computer and moved my hand quickly and randomly, first selecting a book of the bible, then a verse, all without looking where I was choosing, and it opened to James 4:13-15 so I knew that God did not want us to go ahead. Jas 4:13-15 “Some of you say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money." Listen, think about this: You don't know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a fog. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. So you should say, "If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that."

 

[Greg J.]

What our relationship is like with the Lord and what is in our hearts when we ask for a confirmation is what reveals whether it would be a sin or not. It is not the action of asking the Lord for a confirmation that is potentially sinful—which could just as well be called asking the Lord for help in desperation (not a sin), but when we ask because we are failing to trust the Lord.

We should live our lives believing the Lord will fulfill his promises. This is living by faith in God and pleases God and draws you closer to him.

In some cases it might be a good idea to discuss the nature of the decision you must make with a pastor. He can point out the potentially relevant passages in Scripture, and you can check if any apply to your situation.

However, if it seems that you are stuck without getting some direction from the Lord, I recommend not asking until you have prayed about it and are willing to accept whatever response to your request he gives. If he doesn't give confirmation, are you going to do what you want or what is most comfortable, or what it implies God wants you to do?

 

[Fallingupwards]

Thank you all for the replies. You've all posted some pretty helpful stuff.

Is it a "test" (prove) or seeking His guidance? Is the "something(s)" in line with scripture and His teaching and principles? Motivation for the "test"? These are
rhetorical questions, questions to ask yourself and think about, pray about.

God Bless

It's not a test to prove something to me, but rather to show me if my faith is sufficient and guide me through the right path. I've been struggling with strange thoughts and feelings lately and I wanna know if these are normal struggles, or something that I need to work on.

I definitely feel like I'm missing something... I just don't know what it is.

 

[Fallingupwards]

Quick update on this thread.

On the night I prayed for confirmation, I asked Jesus if I was doing what was necessary to follow him because I cared a lot about my walk with Christ. I asked Jesus to show me what needed addressing if I was doing something wrong, and although I was somewhat doubting I'd get the response, I am glad I was wrong because God responded in a very interesting way.

A relative of mine had invited me to a Bible Study session at a local church and I almost immediately felt the need to go without question. This was in fact my first time attending a Bible study at this church because I never knew such a thing was taking place at that location, and when I walked in, I saw about 50 people sitting and waiting for the session to begin.

The Bible study was going normally up until the moment the pastor said "You need to pay extra attention to what I'm about to say for the next 10 minutes" Then proceeded to indirectly address all the questions I prayed about 2 days earlier and it felt weird because it was almost as if he was reading my mind, and yet I had a feeling it was God responding to my prayers through that man. Then he said "Some of you here have been questioning God if you're walking down the right path" I knew right there and then that it was definitely God giving me the information that I needed. It was beautiful and I kept getting goosebumps throughout it all. Haha!