We've been told "Pray to know the Will of God." But - God somehow seems "Out There" and we're faced with this huge problem Right Here. What do we do?
The Will of God is not a formula or a theory. The Will of God is practical, down to earth. It's found by "seeking the truth of each situation in that situation as best as we can figure it out." ( Richard Rohr in "Immortal Diamond.") And figuring out God's Will doesn't depend on familiarity with the Torah, the Koran, the Christian Scriptures, or attending a moral theology class. After all, would it be fair of God to expect that much of all humanity when many human beings have had no acquaintance with any of these things?
The Jewish Prophet Jeremiah said that all human beings can discover God's Will because it is simply "the law written in your heart." (31:33).
Moses tells us "This law is not beyond your strength or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, 'Who will go up to heaven and bring it down to us so that we may hear it and keep it?'... No, the Word is very near to you. It is in your mouth and in your heart." (Deuteronomy 30: 11-14.)
God has made knowledge of His Will available to every human being - as long as he or she is open, honest, and not mentally distorting the circumstances because he or she thinks that it is "all about me."
If we first ask for God's guidance, then use our minds and our hearts to practically and unselfishly look at how the decision will affect us personally AND other human beings involved, OR how it will affect the living creatures and their habitat around us, we can arrive at the Truth of the matter - which is God's Will for us in the Here and Now.
How amazing that God has written the Great Law in every human heart, the Great Truth which must enter into every decision we make: there is a sacred interconnectedness, an interdependency, and unity of all created beings and things. This includes us. Therefore we are called to live with kindness and compassion. Because every decision we make has significance not just for us individually. It has an impact which reaches far beyond us.
This Law written on our hearts is Reality. It is True everywhere and "there for the mind to see in the things that God has made." (Romans 1:20.) All religious traditions and science itself have discovered this basic Truth, this universal knowledge that everyone and everything is interconnected, because God has made it accessible to all. People around the world in every religious tradition, and in the universal theories of science, simply use different words, different concepts, reaching and searching for how to express this one truth.
This nearness of God to us - God's strength and wisdom in our hearts and minds, piloting us, instructing us, guiding us - is so consoling! God's Law, God's Word, can and will illumine us at any time, anywhere, in our life's decisions and questions both big and small.
God's Will is so very near, within our hearts, that if we search sincerely, with love and compassion for ourselves and all people around us, for all creation around us, and if we decide to do the best that we can - God accepts our best and works with us. Just as God accepts and works with "The Best That We Can" decisions made by all God's children in all times and places - for the unity and salvation of the Universe.
(For more on this, read Fr. Richard Rohr's "Immortal Diamond.")