One other mistake beginners in the area of spiritual development often make is the mistake of innovation. We all like to make improvements, make things better, but when it comes to spiritual matters, the techniques followed are best left to the experts. Genuine Gurus prophets and spiritual teachers know what they are doing and how to adapt spiritual development methods for a modern world. Beginners may think their innovations are good ones, but they almost never are. Probably 99.9% of the innovations beginners make reduce the effectiveness of the spiritual techniques which is certainly not the desired goal, but ego, with help from the forces of darkness, will often convince the beginner that the innovations are good ones. 
    Another common mistake of beginners is in how they pray or communicate with God. They address God as if they were a Lord or a king addressing a servant. They tell God what to do and when to do. They tell God who He should help and who to ignore when they plead for help. In short, they tell God what they want instead of listening to God speak to them. The proper way to communicate with God is with humility. He is not your servant, you are His, or you wish to be. If you don't want to serve God, you are wasting your time trying to achieve spiritual enlightenment. You can ask God to help you, but not by getting you a new car or telling you the winning lottery numbers. You ask God to help you with spiritual matters only. God is offering you the greatest gift of all: eternal life with Him in heaven. You don't reply, “No thanks, I'd rather have a new car.” That just isn't going to work.