“Knowing the will of God is one of the most delicate and complicated matter of our lives, especially for those who are trying to find it through prayer. For although His will is revealed according to Thy words: “Ask, seek, knock, and it shall be given you”, yet it requires patience, trials, temptations and [ascetic] experience, to extinguish man’s own will and passions that cannot withstand the inexpressible tenderness and sensitivity of divine grace.” (Elder Joseph the Hesychast)
“To extinguish our own will, and find the true inner peace and joy that only comes when our will is in alignment with God’s will (which brings peace and joy because God’s perfect loving will is always the best thing for us though we do not recognize this because our sinful damaged self seeks that other than God and we fail to understand that God’s will and God’s love are the same thing) we must cast down anything in our life that is an idol. How do we know what is an idol in our life? It’s simple. We just need to take stock of ourselves and see what we are placing first above God. The Holy Spirit will help us do this in prayer. And we need this help to choose God first and that is why He pursues us relentlessly, even allowing us to suffer until we come to our senses.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
“When does a good desire turn into idolatry? When it gets between you and God, even in the slightest way.” (Eric M. Hill)
“We commit idolatry by walking after things that please us but are nevertheless unprofitable.” (Dynamis 11/15/2013)
“God is not obvious. That which is obvious is an object. Objects are inert, static and passive. The tree in my front yard is objectively there (or so it seems). When I get up in the morning and take the dog outside, I expect the tree to be there…I can ignore the tree – or not. That’s what objects are good for. They ask nothing of us. The freedom belongs entirely to us, not to them. This is the function of an idol – to make a god into an object. He/she/it must be there. The idol captures the divine, objectifies it and renders it inert and passive. The God of the Christians smashes idols. He will not stay put or become a passive participant in our narcissism. He is not the God-whom-I-want.” (Father Stephen Freeman)