In the days since President Joe Biden’s decision to step away from the American presidential race, he has been praised for his discernment. This is one of those words, like ‘covenant’ or ‘atonement’, that pop up in public discourse, freighted with Christian association and symbolism (although this may not be obvious to those who use them). Discernment, in the Christian life, is often applied to people hoping to follow a particular calling, perhaps to the consecrated religious life or to ordained ministry. But this conceals its status as an important part of the tradition for all Christians, as we seek to become more aware of God’s will for us, and to follow that will in our actions and our lives.

In the Western Church, the most influential figure in shaping our understanding of discernment is Ignatius of Loyola. His Spiritual Exercises constitute a rigorous four-week course of discernment for the individual Christian, accompanied by a spiritual director. But even if we cannot find the time to spend a month in intensive discernment, we can still learn to exercise this faculty.

There are several hallmarks of the process of discernment. Firstly, it takes time, time spent praying, listening, revisiting decisions and letting them settle. It also requires attentiveness, an ability to recognise our interior promptings and test them against our knowledge of God and our increasing understanding of his will. It needs courage, to face up to the ways in which we try to deceive ourselves. In the Ignatian tradition this is called the ‘discernment of spirits’, the process of locating the origin of different thoughts and noticing their potential for good or for harm. And it relies on a recognition that this is always an ongoing process: we will never ‘get there’.

A few days before he announced his withdrawal, Biden stated that he would only quit if ‘the Lord Almighty came down’ and told him so. We don’t know how he eventually came to his decision; since he is a practicing Roman Catholic, we can assume that prayer formed a significant part of the process. Few of us are privileged to receive unequivocal messages direct from the voice of God, but we can all seek to hear and follow his will for us, through the work of discernment.