Two steps to knowing God's will

“If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him.” (James 1:5a NIV)

If you want to know God’s will, you need to do a couple of things:

1. Admit that you need guidance. We don’t really like to admit when we’re confused. Men especially don’t like to do this! It’s not in my nature to say, “Hey! I’m lost!” and stop and ask for directions. That’s why, when it comes to knowing God’s will, it takes some real courage to admit that we’re confused and need direction.
Psalm 25:9 says, “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (NIV). If you’re arrogant and think you’ve got it all figured out, God’s going to say, “Be my guest. Go for it!” I’ve had people tell me, “I’ve been a Christian for 20 years, and I’ve never felt God guiding me.” My response? Maybe it’s because you’ve never admitted that you need it.
You go to work assuming that you know what to do without praying about it. You make financial decisions all the time without praying about it. You make vacation plans without praying about them. You make career decisions without praying about it. If you’re single, you ask people out on a date without praying about it. You think you know, but you might want to stop and admit that you need guidance, because it’s the first step in getting God’s will for your life.

2. Ask God in faith for directions. The Bible says in James 1:5-6, “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (TLB). Notice there are two keys to knowing God’s wisdom. First, you’ve got to ask the right person: God. You don’t ask your manicurist, your bartender, or some other “reliable” authority like a radio talk show host. You have to ask the right person! Then you ask with the right attitude: expecting God to answer. Have you ever asked God to lead you, but you didn’t really expect him to? Sure you have. That’s why you never got anything from it. You must ask expecting an answer. God honors faith, and he promises wisdom for the next step of your life.

http://dailydevotionals365..com/2015/08/two-steps-to-knowing-gods-will.html

^^^ how does He reply?

seemples:
^^^ how does He reply?

"You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word." Psalms 119:114. To me if we want direction, if we need wisdom (and we all do), then there is only ONE place to put all of our HOPE into and know that we will get an answer, and that place is God's word. It's a promise, but it's a promise with conditions. Slowly read James 1:5-8, read it in several different version, I find it helpful to do that, the Word becomes more clear and it allows me to get a better understanding. Paul is writing this to belivers, those who are following Jesus Christ. First we need to follow Christ, second we need to ask, third we need to believe.

"H.O.P.E - Holding On, Praying Expectantly". That's what we need to do, when we face trials, when our paths are not clear, when we need direction we need not to run, we need to "Hold On" and pray knowing and believing we WILL get an answer. There is lots of great advice in the first chapter of James, if you need to find some direction then this chapter is an excellent place to start!

Thank you but I meant if you wanted God's direction on a say, career path, how will God reply?

seemples:
Thank you but I meant if you wanted God's direction on a say, career path, how will God reply?

Either through Dreams, visions, Inner Witness (all the time), Voice, Connections, Desires, prophecy, Word of wisdom or word of knowledge.

But no matter what channel He uses, the Inner Witness is always there to confirm the validity of the others.