It is not easy to express the radical change that prayer represents, since for many the word “prayer” is associated with piety, talking to God, thinking about God, morning and evening exercises, Sunday services, grace before meals, sentences from the Bible, and many other things. All of these have something to do with prayer, but when I speak about prayer… I speak first of all about moving away from the dwelling place of those who hate peace into the house of God…. Prayer is the center of the Christian life. It is the only necessary thing (Luke 10:42). It is living with God here and now.

Henri J.M. Nouwen (Nijkerk, January 24, 1932 - Hilversum, September 21, 1996) A Dutch Catholic priest and writer who authored 40 books on the spiritual life.

The Only Necessary Thing: Living A Prayerful Life, Compiled & Edited by Wendy Wilson Greer. 1999. p. 25, “Prayer and Peacemaking.” Catholic Agitator (December 1982): 4-5.