Shift to Neutral: How to Actually Hear God’s Will Over Your Own

Have you ever asked God a question and secretly hoped He’d say what you already wanted Him to say?

You bowed your head. You said the words, “Lord, whatever You want.” But deep down you were begging, “Please don’t make me do that. Please make it this.” If that’s been you, that’s exactly why you can’t tell what’s God and what’s you. Today I want to give you the key that unlocks clear hearing.

You can’t hear God when your own will is screaming.

Let me show you the verse that changes everything when you grab a hold of it.

If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.

John 7:17 NKJV

Catch what Jesus is saying. If you will to do His will, you’ll know what’s God and what’s not.

The religious leaders couldn’t recognize Jesus’ teaching as coming from God for one reason — they only willed to do God’s will as long as it fit their traditions. As long as it agreed with their understanding. As long as it lined up with the way they wanted things done. Anything outside that framework? They couldn’t hear it.

That’s exactly why so many believers say, “I just don’t know if that’s God or me.” It’s because there are two voices talking — His and yours — and you’ve never silenced your own.

When you’ve got a dog in the fight, you can’t hear clearly.

Let me get personal. Years ago I was dating a young woman after I got saved. We got along. We seemed to be on the same page spiritually. But for several reasons, I really, really did not want to marry her.

So I prayed. “Lord, do You want me to marry her?”

But what was actually going on inside my heart was, “Lord, please say no. Please say no. Please don’t make me marry her.”

I had a terrible time getting a clear answer. Why? Because I didn’t truly will to do His will. I had a dog in the fight. My own preference was screaming so loud that even if God was speaking, I couldn’t tell whose voice was whose.

When you walk into the throne room with your own agenda already chosen, you can’t trust what you hear. Your flesh is going to whisper its preferences and call them God. You’ve got to take yourself out of the way before you’ll ever hear clearly.

Shifting to neutral isn’t clearing your mind. It’s clearing your agenda.

When I say “shift to neutral,” I’m not talking about emptying your mind like some Eastern meditation. I’m talking about something completely different.

It means clearing your own agenda. It means saying, “Lord, I don’t want anything that doesn’t originate with You. Whatever You will, that’s what I will.”

Now hear me carefully — God isn’t trying to break your will. That’s not the New Testament way. Under the old covenant, breaking the will was the picture, but in the new covenant, He’s calling you to submit it.

Big difference. Broken means destroyed. Submitted means yielded. By an act of your own choice, you say, “Not my will, but Yours be done. Your will is now my will.”

That’s not weakness. That’s strength. That’s a son saying, “Daddy, You know better than I do, and I’m choosing to align myself with You.”

I had to do this at 2 a.m. before a trip I didn’t want to take.

Let me give you a real-life example. One night I had to be up at 4:30 in the morning to fly out for a training trip with my friend Marcus. And honestly? I did not want to go. I was hating the very idea of it.

At 2 a.m. I woke up with this strong impression on the inside of me — “Don’t go on this trip.”

Now I could not tell if that was God or my own flesh trying to give me an excuse. My will was screaming louder than anything else. So I had to get honest with the Lord.

I said, “Lord, I’ll be honest with You. I don’t will to do Your will right now. I’ll do whatever You tell me, but I really don’t want to go.”

Then I sat there from about 2 a.m. to 3:15 a.m. doing one thing — repeatedly choosing to align my will with His. “Lord, I will to do Your will. If You want me to go, I want to go. If You don’t, I don’t want to go either.”

Every time my flesh fired back, “No, you don’t really mean that,” I’d answer back, “Yes, I do. I will to do Your will.” Over and over. For more than an hour.

By 3:15 a.m., I was finally there. I genuinely didn’t care which way it went, because I trusted that whatever He wanted was the best thing for me. Once I got to neutral, I could finally tell what God was actually saying.

Two voices in the room means a confused conversation.

Here’s a picture for you. Imagine I walked into the throne room with my friend Jeff, and Jeff represented my will. I ask the Lord, “What do You want me to do?”

Then Jeff jumps in: “I don’t want you to go on the trip.”

Even if the Lord agrees and says, “Don’t go,” now I’ve got two voices in the room saying the same thing — and I can’t tell which one is God and which one is me. Even when God is speaking, my own will muddies the water.

What’s the fix?

Turn to your will and say, “Shut up. The only thing I want out of your mouth is whatever comes out of His mouth. I will to do His will.”

That’s not harsh. That’s spiritual leadership over your own flesh. Until your will is silent enough to only echo His, you’ll keep mistaking your preferences for divine direction.

The willing AND the obedient eat the good of the land.

If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.

Isaiah 1:19 NKJV

Notice — it’s not just the obedient. It’s the willing and the obedient.

A lot of people obey God like a kid taking out the trash, swinging the bag around, making a mess, complaining the whole time. “I did it. Isn’t that all that matters?” No, darlin’. Your attitude matters too.

God isn’t just looking for compliance. He’s looking for sons who actually want what He wants. The fruit of the land doesn’t fall on grumblers. It falls on the willing.

Ultimately, this comes back to whether you trust His love.

Here’s why most people can’t get to neutral. Deep down, they’re afraid that whatever God wants for them is going to be miserable. So they hold their will tightly because they don’t trust that His will is good.

That’s why the foundation of all of this is the love of God. Once you settle that He loves you completely — that whatever He wills for you is the best possible outcome — getting to neutral becomes simple.

You stop white-knuckling your preferences. You stop dreading the answer. You walk into the throne room expecting good news, because Daddy is on the throne and He’s for you.

Consecrate yourself today.

Quit walking into prayer with your mind already made up. Quit pretending you’re neutral when you’re really not. Quit letting your flesh’s preferences disguise themselves as God’s voice.

Submit your will. Align your wants with His. Then listen — and you’ll be amazed how clearly His voice comes through.

Shift to neutral. Will His will. Fight To Win.