Pray by enduring…
You adore Him better by your silence them by your speeches. If you are incapable of anything whatever, then suffer. If you cannot pray by effort, then you will pray by endurance.
–Saint Jane Francis de Chantal (1572-1641)
Never address…
Never address your words to God while you are thinking of something else.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Begin in silence…
I always begin my prayer in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of silence, so we need to listen. For, it is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us that matters. Prayer feeds the soul — as blood is to the body, prayer is to the soul — and it brings us closer to God.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Let your prayer be…
Let your prayer be completely simple. For both the publican and the prodigal son were reconciled to God by a single phrase… Before all else let us list sincere thanksgiving first on our prayer-card. On the second line we should put confession, and heartfelt contrition of soul. Then let us present our petition to the King of all… This is the best way of prayer, as it was shown to one of the brethren by an angel of the Lord. Do not be over-sophisticated in the words you use when praying, because the simple and unadorned lisping of children has often won the heart of their heavenly Father… If you feel sweetness or compunction at some word of your prayer, dwell on it; for then our guardian angel is praying with us.
–Saint John Climacus (c. 525-606)
We pray least…
We pray least when we say most.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)
God is always with us…
There is no other name by which we must be saved. That we may be able always to pay attention to Christ, and be zealous in this at all times, let us call on him who is the subject of our thoughts at every moment. And of course those who call upon him need no special preparation or special place for prayer, nor a loud voice. For he is present everywhere, and is always with us; he is even nearer to those who seek him than their very heart. It is fitting, then, that we should firmly believe that our prayers will be answered.
–Saint Nicholas Cabasilas (c. 1321–1392)
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