St. Teresa of Avila on obedience to the Church

St. Teresa de Jesus says that, if we sincerely pray for God's kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven, we must "submit in all things to what the Church holds" (Way of Perfection, Ch. 30, para. 4).

St. Teresa of Avila on our demeanor when we pray

"Is there anyone, however foolish, who when he is about to ask for
something from an important person doesn't think over how he should go about
asking?"
(Way of Perfection, Ch. 30, para. 1).

Yet we don't come to prayer with the recollection that we address the Ruler of the Universe.

St. Teresa of Avila on praying "for stuff"

Often, we feel like our prayer should be only prayer of adoration or thanksgiving, and that it is wrong to ask God for things. St. Teresa de Jesus says that such an attitude is actually a form of pride. God wants us to ask for things, because it shows we recognize our neediness in comparison to Him. It is a sign of humility (Way of Perfection., Ch. 28).

St. Teresa of Avila on the Sorrowful Mysteries

"If it's true, Lord, that You want to endure everything for me, what is this that I suffer for You? Of what am I complaining? I am already ashamed, since I have seen You in such a conditoin" (Way of Perfection, Ch. 26, para. 6).

St. Teresa of Avila on merely reciting

"To recite the Our Father or the Hail Mary or whatever prayer you wish is vocal prayer. But behold what poor music you produce when you do this without mental prayer" (Way of Perfection, Ch. 25, para. 3).

St. Teresa of Avila on the "sixpence none the richer" principle

"What wife is there who, after receiving many valuable jewels from her husband, will not give him so much as a ring -- which he wants, not because of its value, for all she has is his, but as a sign of love and a token that she will be his until she dies? Does the Lord deserve less than this that we should mock Him by taking away the worthless gift[89] which we have given Him? Since we have resolved to devote to Him this very brief period of time -- only a small part of what we spend upon ourselves and upon people who are not particularly grateful to us for it -- let us give it Him freely, with our minds unoccupied by other things and entirely resolved never to take it back again, whatever we may suffer through trials, annoyances or aridities. Let me realize that this time is being lent me and is not my own, and feel that I can rightly be called to account for it if I am not prepared to devote it wholly to God." (Way of
Perfection, Ch. 23, para. 2).

Compare to the passage from C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, from which the group Sixpence None the Richer took its name:

"Every faculty you have, your power of thiking or of moving your limbs frommoment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything taht was not in a sense His own already. So that when we talk of a man doing anything for God or giving anything to God, I will tell you what it is really like. It is like a small chidl going to its father and saying, 'Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.' Of course, the father does, adn he is pleased with the child's present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction" (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity Bk. 3, Ch. 11, pp. 126-127 in the 1996 Touchstone edition).

On the one hand, the fact that God has given us everything should make us want to give everything back to Him, just as the Son does. Yet He realizes we are incapable of it-He created us incapable of it, because he wants us to give freely. He would rather we give a small amount freely than everything under duress. And when we are truly not free to give, we do not need to.

St. Teresa continues:

"I say 'wholly', but we must not be considered as taking it back if we should fail to give it Him for a day, or for a few days, because of legitimate occupations or through some indisposition. Provided the intention remains firm, my God is not in the least meticulous;[90] He does not look at trivial details; and, if you are trying to please Him in any way, He will assuredly accept that as your gift. The other way is suitable for ungenerous souls, so mean that they are not large-hearted enough to give but find it as much as they can do to lend. Still, let them make some effort, for this Lord of ours will reckon everything we do to our credit and accept everything we want to give Him. In drawing up our reckoning, He is not in the least exacting, but generous; however large the amount we may owe Him, it is a small thing for Him to forgive us. And, as to paying us, He is so careful about this that you need have no fear He will leave us without our reward if only we raise our eyes to Heaven and remember Him." (Way of Perfection, Ch. 23, para. 3).

Every moment we give God has immense value.

St. Teresa of Avila on keeping focused in prayer

St. Teresa de Jesus insists that we must give God all our focus and attention in prayer.

"Who can say that it is wrong if, before we begin reciting the Hours or the Rosary, we think Whom we are going to address, and who we are that are addressing Him, so that we may do so in the way we should? I assure you, sisters, that if you gave all due attention to a consideration of these two points before beginning the vocal prayers which you are about to say you would be engaging in mental prayer for a very long time. For we cannot approach a prince and address him in the same careless way that we should adopt in speaking to a peasant or to some poor woman like ourselves, whom we may address however we like" (Way of Perfection, Ch. 22, para. 3).

"You should not be thinking of other things while speaking with God, for doing so amounts to not knowing waht mental prayer is" (Ch. 22, para. 8).