This is certainly one topic that has evolved for me over time. For a time, specifically when I didn't really know who God is, I thought prayer and determinism was all that mattered. Then as my knowledge grew I began to experiment with methods of reaching something that I interpreted as communication from the Holy Father. I would talk audibly, expecting some sort of hocus pocus answer. Not an audible answer, perhaps a mental suggestion. You can find evidence of this type of prescriptive methodology in the "Wild At Heart" series. Great book, just bad theology.
Where am I now?
My wife asks me, how do you know that we're supposed to move to NY?
I tell her, "Well, it starts with prayer, I've prayed about it. I'm seeking God and I don't have a job in Kansas...."
In some ways, determinism sets my path, yet prayer and seeking God in the scriptures helps enable me to be confident in that whatever I choose to do, God will direct my paths, as I seek him first. There's a confidence there that grows as days progress, and in that, I find rest. Bear in mind that I don't believe NY is a destination unlike any other. It is simply a place where I will live, as God works out the remainder of my salvation. Perhaps we'll move again; what I care for most is that God be in this...
Holy Holy Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who IS and WAS and IS to COME
