To be perfectly honest, when you put God and prayer up there, I’d have to say nothing.
I’m discerning religious (consecrated) life, with the intention of entering a mendicant order (probably Dominicans) as soon as I finish at university. When it comes to our discernment, it is a journey - a pilgrimage. This journey is one of knowing and loving. In my case, I am loving everything about my faith - the liturgy, the teachings, the horarium, the religious life etc. Unfortunately this is putting me at odds with my studies!
At the core of all of this however, is God. He leads us to Him in the way meant for us. It may be that I am not cut out for religious life, but I have to know, don’t I? If I did not have God and prayer, I could not be where I am, and doing what I am doing. Without God, I would not even be.
Yes, we can say that friars and religious directors are helping, but are they not also under the influence of grace? Are not the truths we encounter in Scripture the same unspoken words He utters in our heart? What is it about the very life we lead that enables us always to consider the presence and action of God in our lives?
I have to say that it is precisely God and prayer that is helping me walk in Christ. He manifests this help in various ways - I am living in a friary and I am learning about the religious life. I am also praying more, and taking God in to my heart, so I can belong in His more fully.
Therefore, we in our discernment walk daily with Christ, and it is as if the veils of truth and love of our faith are being pulled back a little more day by day. From this, it may be that the veil is lifted by a word of a fellow brother, or a sentence we read in a book recommended to us by our Spiritual Director, yet it is all directed by God’s loving hand, to direct us to Himself so that we fulfil our vocation and so come into unity with Him.