Course III - Teaching 5: Simple Prayer

Despite good intentions, despite apparent efforts, certain souls complain because they cannot realize the spiritual life. Everywhere one finds difficulties and obstacles. Everything becomes justifications to explain the stagnation. So we are often told that in the world there are many stumbling blocks to achieve a pure spiritual life and that although all Sons can attain the Renunciation, people who must live on the vale only find difficulties.
Really this is meaningless because the soul that lives an inner life and prays, cannot have difficulties wherever is is, or whatever does, or whoever is, but certainly, many times the Son, by virtue of numberless causes, permits to be trapped by needs of life and by excessive preoccupation for his material troubles, and this moves away from contemplation and divine things; then a lot of difficulties emerge.
It is impossible to be in peace with oneself if first we do not define our inner values. You can never find what you procrastinate or relegate, and spiritual vocation never must be displaced by other concerns or intentions.
Everything will be difficult as you make your vocation play on the pair of opposites of one thing or the other, of one desire or the other, of one need or the other. This should reveal a great inner instability that is true source of all the rest of conflicts or obstacles.
The spiritual vocation is the only real value of the individual being, and therefore can be neither impossible nor exclusive for very few people. But its achievement is only reserved to those who know how to live it as their only real value.
Only a clear and final definition of what the Son is seeking allows him traveling through the path toward the inner liberation without inner obstacles.
As a practice, the simple prayer is the best way to remain centered on the Unique Idea and transcend inner and outer difficulties.
It is to do everything with an intention previously established by a life of surrender; it is faith on the success and good result of the spiritual mission, although if apparently this is not so; and it is a state of deep and usual humility in face of every action to fulfill in life.