When it comes to discerniing God's will, there is no better example than Jesus. He clearly identified the means by which He was able to know God's will: open communication with our Heavenly Father.  He spent time alone in prayer where he spoke and listened to God the Father. In so doing, He saw a "blueprint" of sorts for what He was to do. John 5:19-24 reveals Jesus' commitment to following the Father's lead, "the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner" (NASB).

It seems there was something that compelled Jesus to do only what He saw the Father doing. What was it? It didn't take Jesus long to answer this unasked question. In verse 30 Jesus clearly identifies his motivation: "I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me". Jesus discovered Father God's will through submission and observation.

If we seek to know and strive to do God's will we must begin with submission to God. We could switch it up and begin our prayer times by quoting Jesus' Garden of Gethsemane prayer, "not My will but Yours be done" (Lk 22:42). Prayer has been characterized as more of listening than listing. Once we have placed God's will above our own we'll want to open our Bibles and ask God to speak to us. You may begin by asking for "ears to hear" and "eyes to see". Invite the Holy Spirit to identify the Father's will. Then, give God time. Trust Him to communicate with you, His child, just as He did with Jesus, His Son. If He doesn't speak immediately, be faithful and diligent for "God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). Trust and obey Him as you learn to discern His will.