Daily Meditation

It is not always simple to practice mental prayer. Some days, it works just fine, other days not so much. And that's totally normal, St. Teresa of Ávila herself experienced some difficulties: 

Sometimes I  myself could not produce a single fixated thought on God, or any object; my mind was like a fool that could not be chained"
- St. Teresa of Ávila 

If your mind escapes you, do not worry: slowly bring your thoughts back to Christ using an image, a verse to focus on. If your are preoccupied, you can begin your prayer by sharing your worries with Christ. 

St. Teresa teaches us not to be discouraged, to persevere.

Beginners in prayer, we may say, are those who draw up the water out of the well: this, as I have said, is a very laborious proceeding, for it will fatigue them to keep their senses recollected, which is a great labour because they have been accustomed to a life of distraction
- St. Teresa of Ávila, Life of St. Teresa of Ávila

It will become easier with time and practice. 

If we cultivate the habit, make the necessary effort and practise the exercises for several days, the benefits will reveal themselves, and when we begin to pray we shall realize that the bees are coming to the hive and entering it to make the honey, and all without any effort of ours.  
- St. Teresa of Ávila, The Way of  Perfection

 Let us not be discouraged, then, and give up prayer or cease doing what the rest do; for the Lord sometimes tarries long, and gives us as great rewards all at once as He has been giving to others over many years.
- St. Teresa of Ávila, The Way of  Perfection 

Above all, it is important that you practice prayer with humility, without fear of God. St. Teresa of Avila teaches us that we should continue our efforts, especially when we are at our weakest, when we are worried, when we feel that we are more connected to the exterior world: 

I began, then, to indulge in one pastime after another, in one vanity after another and in one occasion of sin after another. Into so many and such grave occasions of sin did I fall, and so far was my soul led astray by all these vanities, that I was ashamed to return to God and to approach Him in the intimate friendship which comes from prayer. This shame was increased by the fact that, as my sins grew in number, I began to lose the pleasure and joy which I had been deriving from virtuous things. I saw very clearly, my Lord, that this was failing me because I was failing Thee. The devil, beneath the guise of humility, now led me into the greatest of all possible errors. Seeing that I was so utterly lost, I began to be afraid to pray. It seemed to me better, since in my wickedness I was one of the worst people alive, to live like everyone else.
- St. Teresa of Ávila, Life of St. Teresa of Ávila 

Let Us Pray with St. Teresa of Ávila 

Find a time during the day to enter into a state of mental prayer.