It is a risky thing to pray, and the danger is that our very prayers get between God and us. The great thing in prayer is not to pray, but to go directly to God. If saying your prayers is an obstacle to prayer, cut it out. Let Jesus pray. Thank God Jesus is praying. Forget yourself. Enter into the prayer of Jesus. Let him pray in you.
The best way to pray is: stop. Let prayer pray within you, whether you know it or not. This means a deep awareness of your true inner identity …. There are no levels. Any moment you can break through into the
underlying unity which is God’s gift in Christ. In this end, Praise praises. Thanksgiving gives thanks. Jesus prays. Openness is all.
Thomas Merton
Centering Prayer, p. 56-57
