WAYS TO KNOW GOD WILL FOR YOUR LIFE
1. SALVATION

The first prerequisite to finding God’s will is salvation. If you aren’t saved by being born again through faith in His son and the finished work on the cross, then it’s hopeless to try to find the will of god. Please settle that matter before you proceed.
It’s important for you to burn this concept into your mind, not only to guarantee at the outset that you are one of his children, but also to assure yourself that God does have a will for your life. If He want you to be saved-and He does- then He obviously has designed a plan for your life- and believe me, it’s a good one. 2 Peter 3:9 “the Lord is not …..Willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (NKJV).

2. BE CONTROLED BY HIS WORD AND SPIRIT (Eph 5:I8-2I; Colo 3:I6-I7)

The second prerequisite to finding GOD’s will is that we “walk in the spirit” (Gal. 5:I6 NKJV), meaning we should live in the control of His spirit. Paul warned the Ephesians Christians, “Do not be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the spirit” (Eph. 5:I7-I8 NKJV)
Although this may be the Bible’s most important command to Christians, it is often the least obeyed. Verse I7 warns that the Christians who doesn’t walk in the spirit or isn’t filled with the Spirit are “unwise.” Many Christians view being filled with the Spirit as optional. Some who sincerely try to find the will of God fail to realize that they must first be filled with the Spirit. Identifying God’s specific will in a given situation requires being sensitive to the leading of His Spirit.

3. LOVE GOD AND SURRENDER TO HIS WILL (MATHEW 22:23)

The third prerequisite to finding God’s will is to surrender to Him even before you know His will. The first commandment according to our Lord, is that you “love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Mathew 22:23). Such comprehensive love for God naturally results in total submission.
That surrender was clearly described in the words of the apostle Paul “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom 12:1-2 NKJV). All mortals have serious problem of submitting their will to God’s will. He knows we are all rebellious by nature, which is why we have difficulty loving Him to the point of surrendering our bodies and minds to Him. Such surrender begins with the will.
What do great men and women in the bible have in common? Their love for God caused them to surrender to His will for their life, and their success can be measured in different proportion to their surrender. For confirmation of that fact, read the biographies of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Hannah, Esther, Elijah, David, Daniel- the list is endless. It continues into the New Testament with Virgin Mary, Peter, John, Paul, and many others, then marches throughout two thousand years of church history with Wycliffe, Knox, Moody, Finney, Gosforth, and millions more.
Study the following two verses in which God promises to reveal His will. Notice that these promises presuppose that the person seeking God’s will is already committed to doing it.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye. (Ps 32:8 NKJV)

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
"This is the way, walk in it,"
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left. (Isa 30:21 NKJV)

Personally, I doubt God gives such guidance to Christians whom He knows will not heed His voice. If you really want to know God’s will, surrender to Him before He reveals it.
You can surrender gladly to God’s will because you can trust that his will is good. Because He is a loving heavenly Father, you never need to worry about His design for your life. He certainly will direct your life more successfully than you can.

ojeland:
3. LOVE GOD AND SURRENDER TO HIS WILL (MATHEW 22:23)

The third prerequisite to finding God’s will is to surrender to Him even before you know His will. The first commandment according to our Lord, is that you “love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Mathew 22:23). Such comprehensive love for God naturally results in total submission.
That surrender was clearly described in the words of the apostle Paul “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom 12:1-2 NKJV). All mortals have serious problem of submitting their will to God’s will. He knows we are all rebellious by nature, which is why we have difficulty loving Him to the point of surrendering our bodies and minds to Him. Such surrender begins with the will.
What do great men and women in the bible have in common? Their love for God caused them to surrender to His will for their life, and their success can be measured in different proportion to their surrender. For confirmation of that fact, read the biographies of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Hannah, Esther, Elijah, David, Daniel- the list is endless. It continues into the New Testament with Virgin Mary, Peter, John, Paul, and many others, then marches throughout two thousand years of church history with Wycliffe, Knox, Moody, Finney, Gosforth, and millions more.
Study the following two verses in which God promises to reveal His will. Notice that these promises presuppose that the person seeking God’s will is already committed to doing it.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye. (Ps 32:8 NKJV)

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
"This is the way, walk in it,"
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left. (Isa 30:21 NKJV)

Personally, I doubt God gives such guidance to Christians whom He knows will not heed His voice. If you really want to know God’s will, surrender to Him before He reveals it.
You can surrender gladly to God’s will because you can trust that his will is good. Because He is a loving heavenly Father, you never need to worry about His design for your life. He certainly will direct your life more successfully than you can.

is it up to six yet?

4. LIVE A SANCTIFIED (HOLY) LIFE (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6)

The fourth prerequisite to finding the will of God is living a sanctified life. Paul defines what this sanctified life should be like in his letter to the Thessalonians:

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter (1 Thess. 4:3-6a NKJV)
When we don’t live a holy life, we are completely out of His will. Sanctification isn’t some special holy life God has reserved for super saints; it’s His will for all believers. For that reason, let’s take a look at just two out of the three characteristics of that a holy or sanctified life, as Paul outlined it in first Thessalonians 4:3-6.

ABSTAIN FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY.

Next to self-preservation, sex is the most powerful force in life. It’s not an inherently evil drive, for through it God wants us to propagate the race. But He want us to control our sex drive-not let it control us.
Don’t be surprised if sexual temptation becomes your biggest problem in living the Christian life. It always has been. That’s why the apostle Paul, in his catalog of eighteen sins in (Galatians 5: 19-21) list four sexual sins.
If sexual temptation was awesome in the first century, just think what is today. Our humanistic culture is saturated with sexual immorality, as reflected in advertising, sex-education classes without moral values, and government-sponsored “safe sex” campaigns that encourage fornication if it’s done with proper precaution against disease.
In the will of God, sex can be the most beautiful and satisfying of all life’s experiences. God’s provision for sexual expression, however, is only within the confines of marriage. If you take time to study the Bible’s view of sexual involvement, you will find that every time the Bible refers to sex in marriage, it is good and holy; each time sexual expression is mentioned out of marriage, it is condemned or forbidden.

DEAL HONESTLT WITH OTHERS

Within all human beings lies the temptation to take advantage of or defraud other people. We’ve all been tempted to cheat or lie to gain advantage over someone else. But the Christians should be different. We are our brother’s keeper. Instead of being takers, we should be givers. If telling the truth will cost us money in a business deal, we should be willing to pay it, just because we are honest. It’s ludicrous to lie or cheat, then piously ask God to help us find His will for our life. He demands that we tell the truth, that we show concerned for other people. That’s part of our sanctification.

5. OBEY LEGIMATE AUTHORITY (1 PETER 2:13-15)

The fifty prerequisite to finding God’s will is to submit to those in authority over you. The apostle Peter puts it this way: “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king or supreme or to governors as to those who are sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 PETER 2:13-15 NKJV)
God’s will calls for Christians to be obedient to government authorities; laws, even employers, as long as their requirements don’t cause us to violate the higher law of God. Throughout history, Christians have been tempted to violate the law to accomplish something “good” but this is forbidden, for it hinders our Christian witness. If we disobey a duly constituted authority, we have violated God’s will.
That does not mean that God approves the laws of all governments. In fact, historically, most governments have been evil and hurtful to people. Christians should be examples to other people in obeying the law. We should serve as models in the way we pay our taxes, drive our cars, settle our indebtedness and respect the rights of others. If government passes laws that we don’t agree with, we have the liberty to work to change them. And we should. In the meantime unless the laws force us to disobey one of God laws, we should obey them.
Take the subject of abortion in America, which was legalized in 1973. Just because a majority of the Supreme Court voted to legalize the murder of the unborn, we shouldn’t feel compelled to agree with or participate in it decision. Doctors and nurses have been known to refuse to perform abortions because they appealed to a higher law: “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20: 13).

6. BE A THANKFUL PERSON (1 THESSALONIAN 5: 18)

The sixth prerequisite to finding the will of God is having a mental attitude of thankfulness. “The scripture tells us, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”. (1Thess 5:18 NKJV) in other places, scripture teaches us to “rejoice ever more.” “Pray with thanksgiving” and “be thankful.” But this verse from 1Thessalonians specifically links thanksgiving to the will of God.
By nature, none of us is thankful. But when we walk in the spirit we’ll respond with a thankful attitude. When we gripe or chafe, we are not in the will of God. It’s easier for God to lead us to His specific will when we possess a thanksgiving attitude.