Three Tips for Missional Discernment

I have read many books on the subject of discerning the Spirit, and, like you, I am continually trying to listen and respond to God in the midst of ordinary life and ministry. There are countless discernment tools available. What follows are three that I, and others in the RM network, have found especially helpful. They are practices that help us pay attention to the Spirit’s guidance. 

1. Scripture 

A church community noticed that several local families were struggling with food costs. They had seen community groceries thrive in urban areas and began to wonder whether something similar might work in their village. As they prayed and talked it through, some worried it would stretch them too far. Yet someone gently reminded the group that Scripture repeatedly calls God’s people to feed the hungry and practise generosity. That did not settle every practical question, but it framed the conversation differently. Someone was able to take the lead and with help from others in the village, the community grocery was set up. 

What is evident is that knowing our Bibles helps us to understand God’s character and how we can respond with God’s love in our communities. I see the Bible as a way to draw close to Jesus, and to discover more of God’s heart for us and the world. It’s about intimacy, and from this place of intimacy we can learn to recognise the voice of God. 

We also need humility as we all read the Bible through our own lenses. Inviting voices from the wider church, both locally and globally, is a good way to keep our interpretation and discernment balanced 

Some useful questions might be: 

·         What does Scripture reveal about the situation I am facing? 

·         How does Jesus respond to similar needs? 

·         What assumptions am I bringing? 

·         What would someone from a different background or context have to say? 

2. Consolation and desolation

In one location I would feel something like a breath of fresh air. There was a sense of peace and quiet joy settling in me. In another location, my heart would grow heavy and my thoughts would begin to spiral. The contrast was consistent. I brought this to God, asking if this was spiritual attack that I needed to pray into or if God was saying something else. Over time, the same pattern repeated itself each time I approached either place. For me, this became part of the discernment process. It was not that one place was good and the other bad, but that in that particular season the Spirit seemed to be drawing me more deeply into one context than the other. Paying attention to consolation and desolation helped me recognise where I sensed life and where I needed to spend my time for that season. Discernment here was less about dramatic revelation and more about faithfully noticing the emotions that accompanied different callings. 

Even with Scripture shaping us, decisions are not always straightforward. Sometimes one path clearly aligns with God’s purposes, more often, however, the boundaries are blurred. Here the Ignatian language of consolation and desolation can be immensely helpful. Consolation describes the deep sense of peace, aliveness or settled joy that arises as we sit with a decision. Desolation describes the heaviness, unrest or quiet draining of hope that can accompany another. 

This is not about chasing comfort, as we are sometimes called to demanding or costly places. Yet even in difficulty, when we are truly called, there is often a steady sense that God is present with us. That quiet assurance is consolation. When we persist somewhere we are not called to remain, desolation tends to deepen over time. Paying attention to where we experience life is often revealing. Try asking these questions: 

·         Where does something within me come alive? 

·         When do I feel unsettled and not at peace? 

·         Is this a challenging situation in which I can still sense God, or am I being called in another unwelcome direction? 

3. Prophecy and revelation  

While praying for missional direction at Launde Abbey, I paused before an artwork of a walled garden. I sensed a quiet nudge: look after the garden. As I prayed further, the image unfolded. Different areas of ministry were like plants. At different times, different parts required care. The call was to nurture the church itself so that it could flourish in discipleship and mission. 

The Spirit still speaks, sometimes through scripture, through circumstance and sometimes through a friend’s comment or a moment in nature, through dreams and visions. In many communities I have encountered, prophetic insight forms a significant strand of the discernment journey. The question is not simply whether God speaks, but how do we discern what we hear? 

Prophetic words are rarely meant to stand alone. An individual may receive a sense or image, but it is often confirmed, clarified or gently corrected within the wider church. Mature discernment involves submitting revelation to community. The church listens together, tests together, and seeks the Spirit’s guidance together. Creating cultures where this is possible is part of our missional responsibility. 

It is also important to hold these experiences in conversation with Scripture and to attend to our own emotions as we receive them. 

Asking questions like: 

·         Do they resonate with the character of God revealed in Christ? 

·         Do they lead towards life, marked by consolation, or towards unrest and desolation? 

·         Am I open enough for God to surprise me? 

·         Am I humble enough to let others help interpret what I think I have heard? 

Scripture shapes our understanding of who God is, consolation and desolation help us notice how the Spirit may be moving within us and prophetic insight reminds us that God is not silent and may interrupt our carefully laid plans. 

These practices slow us down and draw us into deeper intimacy with Christ and deeper dependence on one another. Alongside other discernment tools, these practices can help to guard us from launching projects of our own invention and help us join in with what God is already doing. Let’s keep discerning together.

First published in MOSAIC Issue 19, May - August 2026