Istikhara

Hazrat Jabir says that the Holy Prophet ( may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would teach us about Istikhara like how He would teach us about the Surah of holy Quran.(Riyadh-ul-saaliheen, page 419, hadith:718)

istikhara means to seek welfare from Allah. Before you start any important task you should perform Istikhara. The person performing istikhara is thus requesting Allah:''O knower of the unseen, give me the signal showing if what i am doing is better for me or not''