--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All…" description: "\"St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.' This is the conviction that we bring..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/thomas-keating-10246_absent_st-teresa-of-avila-wrote-all-difficultie_256033.jpg" --- # St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All difficulties in prayer can… ![“St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.' This is the conviction that we bring with us from early childhood and apply to everyday life and to our lives in general. It gets stronger as we grow up, unless we are touched by the…” quote by Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/thomas-keating-10246_absent_st-teresa-of-avila-wrote-all-difficultie_256033.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/thomas-keating-10246_absent_st-teresa-of-avila-wrote-all-difficultie_256033.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/thomas-keating-10246_absent_st-teresa-of-avila-wrote-all-difficultie_256033.jpg) > “St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.' This is the conviction that we bring with us from early childhood and apply to everyday life and to our lives in general. It gets stronger as we grow up, unless we are touched by the Gospel and begin the spiritual journey. This journey is a process of dismantling the monumental illusion that God is distant or absent.” [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prayer feels ineffective when we imagine God as distant; true prayer requires sensing divine presence. **In simple terms:** Prayer fails if we think God is absent. Key Takeaway Cultivate awareness of God's presence. Themes faith prayer spirituality Mood contemplative hopeful Type spiritual inspirational When to use this quote - personal meditation - church services - spiritual direction - daily devotions Key Concepts theology mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How does your perception of God's presence affect your prayer life? - What practices help you sense divine closeness? A Different Perspective If one truly feels God's presence, prayer may still feel challenging due to personal doubts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Early childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-childhood/) [Everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday/) [Everyday life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday-life/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Praying God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying-god/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-journey/) ## Related quotes > [ Again, I hear almost everyday from atheists who write off religion as primitive, premodern nonsense. I summon Aquinas, Augustine, Paul \[of Tarsus\], Teresa of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/again-i-hear-almost-everyday-from-atheists-who-write-off-religion-as/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [In the tradition of Julian of Norwich and St. Teresa of Avila and all the other mystics, we can learn to render ourselves vulnerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/in-the-tradition-of-julian-of-norwich-and-st-teresa-of-avila-and-all/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [“Settle yourself in solitude and you will come upon Him in yourself. —TERESA OF ÁVILA”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/settle-yourself-in-solitude-and-you-will-come-upon-him-in-yourself/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [When St. Teresa of Avila says, 'Our life in this world is like a night in a second class hotel' I agree with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/when-st-teresa-of-avila-says-our-life-in-this-world-is-like-a-night/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [St. Teresa of Avila described our life in this world as like a night at a second-class hotel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/st-teresa-of-avila-described-our-life-in-this-world-as-like-a-night/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [“She cherished her spiritual books and doesn't deny the debt contracted from some of them. -- Kieran Kavanaugh regarding Teresa of Avila”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kieran-kavanaugh/she-cherished-her-spiritual-books-and-doesn-t-deny-the-debt/) Kieran Kavanaugh > [“Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-smucker/christ-has-no-body-on-earth-but-yours-no-hands-but-yours-no-feet-but/) [Shawn Smucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-smucker/) > [“She knew that it was better to have a dream and pay a price for it than to be lukewarm. - regarding St. Teresa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-salzman/she-knew-that-it-was-better-to-have-a-dream-and-pay-a-price-for-it/) [Mark Salzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-salzman/) > [“You will always face difficulties in prayer. Just accept it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bartunek/you-will-always-face-difficulties-in-prayer-just-accept-it/) John Bartunek > [The modern world lies under a pervasive sense of anguish, of being abandoned, or at least experiencing God as absent. Yet events that seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-modern-world-lies-under-a-pervasive-sense-of-anguish-of-being/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [The grandest discourse ever delivered is an ostentatious failure if the doctrine of the grace of God be absent from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-grandest-discourse-ever-delivered-is-an-ostentatious-failure-if/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Look at the animals roaming the forest: God’s spirit dwells within them. Look at the birds flying across the sky: God’s spirit dwells within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pelagius/look-at-the-animals-roaming-the-forest-god-s-spirit-dwells-within/) [Pelagius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pelagius/) > [“Religious despair is often a defense against boredom and the daily grind of existence. Lacking intensity in our lives, we say that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/religious-despair-is-often-a-defense-against-boredom-and-the-daily/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [We dare not think that God is absent or daydreaming. The do nothing God...He's not tucked away in some far corner of the universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-eareckson-tada/we-dare-not-think-that-god-is-absent-or-daydreaming-the-do-nothing/) [Joni Eareckson Tada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-eareckson-tada/) > [“We cannot attain the presence of God because we’re already totally in the presence of God. What’s absent is awareness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-cannot-attain-the-presence-of-god-because-we-re-already-totally-in/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## More by Thomas Keating > [It is essential for world peace that the world religions make peace with each other. If they don't, we can hardly expect the nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/it-is-essential-for-world-peace-that-the-world-religions-make-peace/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [In the Christian perspective, the love of God and of all other human beings invites us to share and enjoy not just the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/in-the-christian-perspective-the-love-of-god-and-of-all-other-human/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Science and technology have been embarrassed by two world wars, many smaller ones, and the spread of weapons that could destroy humanity. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/science-and-technology-have-been-embarrassed-by-two-world-wars-many/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [“As St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) taught, whatever we say about God is more unlike God than saying nothing. If we do say something, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/as-st-thomas-aquinas-1225-1274-taught-whatever-we-say-about-god-is/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Humility is the forgetfulness of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/humility-is-the-forgetfulness-of-self/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [God will bring people and events into our lives, and whatever we may think about them, they are designed for the evolution of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/god-will-bring-people-and-events-into-our-lives-and-whatever-we-may/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [For human beings, the most daunting challenge is to become fully human. For to become fully human is to become fully divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/for-human-beings-the-most-daunting-challenge-is-to-become-fully-human/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [The acceptance of all that God has given us and the willingness to let it go - to give it back to him at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-acceptance-of-all-that-god-has-given-us-and-the-willingness-to/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [The complementary movement towards divine love is growth in humility which is the acceptence of the reality about ourselves, our own weakness and limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-complementary-movement-towards-divine-love-is-growth-in-humility/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [I venture to say that it's not enough to respect and tolerate religions other than our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/i-venture-to-say-that-it-s-not-enough-to-respect-and-tolerate/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [God's first language is Silence. Everything else is a translation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/god-s-first-language-is-silence-everything-else-is-a-translation/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Union with God is really possible. 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