From the book A Short Method of Mental Prayer - For effective mental prayer, humility is essential, compelling us to recognize our unworthiness before God's infinite grandeur despite His sovereign goodness. We approach Him, acknowledging our baseness and sins, earnestly begging for His merciful hearing as dust and ashes, poor worms, or prodigal children returning with fear and confusion. This humble prostration should, however, be accompanied by great confidence in His divine goodness, trusting that He, in His boundless mercy, not only permits but even draws us into His presence to reveal our needs and offer His grace and assistance, as taught by all the Saints who emphasize the inseparable link between self-mistrust and trust in God.