One of the complaints about spiritual writings is that much is written about the importance of prayer, but little is written about how to pray. And, often, prayer is presented as a complex process requiring oodles of time.

Here is a description of prayer from the Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux, which implies a simple way of praying.

For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look toward heaven; it is a cry of recognition and love; embracing both trial and joy. (Story of a Soul)

Notice, for the Little Flower, prayer is not simply thinking thoughts. It is a heart­felt, affective movement, a surge of the heart. And it may be a momentary move­ment. Walking down a corridor, looking up from a desk, waiting at a stoplight, the heart can leap to God. No complicated steps. No esoteric exercises. The prayer is suggests could be a simple, “Thank you!” or "Help!" or "Amen!," or a wordless moment of delight, wonder, or grief.

And this simple look is directed toward heaven. She does not say "God." For some people God is problematic, as they understand God. Her definition allows the one who is praying the freedom to allow the goal of their prayer to be Nameless. We know we do not capture Holy Mystery with the word "God." Therese leaves room for other names, or not, fn the Nameless One.

Heaven was the word that captured the whole point of life for Therese. It was the first word she could read. She would gaze at the stars, and one particular cluster appeared to from a "T." She pointed it out to her father, and told him her name was written in heaven. When she experienced good things in life, she said Heaven would be like that, but without end. In other words, heaven is her expression for the place where the deepest desires of the human heart are fulfilled. Other hearts may have other expressions.

She says prayer is a cry of recognition and love. There is something right in this surge this cry. It is honest, true, and flung into the universe on the wings of hope. The one who prays intuitively knows, or truly hopes, that this prayer is honest. Not only is the direction of the prayer a mystery; the source or origin of the prayer is also a question. Is someone else praying in my prayer? We do believe the Holy Spirit is praying in us. There is something right and true in this honest expression of feeling.

It is a prayer embracing both trial and joy. The cry comes from our daily experience life. It may express the joy of a simple accomplishment or outcome; it may express the frustration of a momentary difficulty, or the experience of being in a dark place in life. But, the cry can also arise from a powerful sense of the graciousness of life, unrelated to any specific reason.

This prayer is simple and powerful, as is the young Saint herself!

From Carmelite Preview Fall/Winter 2010