It may seem strange, but being in the will of God is very far removed from just doing what God wants us to do - so far removed, in fact, that we can be solidly in the will of God, and be aware that we are, without knowing God’s preference with regard to various details of our lives. We can be in his will as we do certain things without our knowing that he prefers these actions to certain other possibilities.

One who inquires seriously after God’s guidance must never forget that even if one was to do all the particular things God wants and explicitly commands us to do, one might still not be the person God would have one be. It is always true that “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3:6). An obsession merely with doing all God commands may be the very thing that rules out being the kind of person that he calls us to be.

What he wants us to do is very important, of course, and we must be careful to learn how to know and do it, but it is never enough by itself to allow us to understand and enter the radian life before the shining face of God that is offered to us in the grace of the gospel – a life pleasing to him, in view of which he can say, “this is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.”

- Dallas Willard “Hearing God”

Isn’t this an amazing passage. It is pulled in bits and pieces out of the introduction of the book, and I haven’t even bothered to explore the first chapter. I am waiting until I figure out if I am more concerned with doing or being. With which are you more concerned? Let’s have some real discussion on this.