Because of the human condition, I do not have the ability to place God at the center of my life. God will have to place himself there. My job is to stay out of the way and let God do his thing. I need to stop doing and allow God to do the doing to me, in me, for me. My part is so simple, and yet, because I am so stuck in the rut of the human condition, it will take my whole lifetime—maybe more—to completely surrender to God. God will indeed make himself my God, but he will not do so against my free will. He will not push me off the throne. He will patiently, lovingly, slowly take over my life as I awkwardly, painfully, begrudgingly allow him to do so. First, I may allow him to sit on a corner of the throne. After a long while, I will inch over and allow him to sit beside me. Only in the end will I finally sit in my Father’s lap and rest there from the childish games of my life.
—from the book Armchair Mystic: How Contemplative Prayer Can Lead You Closer to God by Mark Thibodeaux, SJ