God is Mystery itself . At prayer we attempt to place ourselves in the position whereby God's mystery can touch our mystery. Often we try to reduce mystery to our own proportions. We do this by stereotyping the other in order to control and to manipulate. In a similar way, we prevent God from revealing God's word in our hearts through false images.
Images affect our own responses because they influence our expectations.
Take, for example, the person who has an image of a spiritual experience as a peak experience of conversion. He may have many spiritual experiences throughout the week which he cannot recognize because they do not fit his expectations. Another person may have an image of communication in marriage which leads her to expect that she and her spouse need to share on the deepest of levels before they have a good marriage. She has assumed the modern cultural view of romantic love and communication and, without question or thinking, she automatically uses this view as a criterion for a good marriage. The images we hold about ourselves have a way of influencing our own behaviour.