The HEART of Prayer

Prayer – We think we know what it is. It is asking God for things. We pray to seek God’s guidance. Or we pray requesting God to heal or direct or fix or assist in some way. When we grow in our prayer life we discover that prayer is a two way street. We begin to believe that it involves dialogue and not just our monologue. Yet how does this dialogue work? Does God call us on our cell phone? Do we sit and stare off into space until we “hear” his voice? Perhaps there is some nudging of our desires or wills that comes from God.

For many years I prayed intercessory prayers. I had lists of Scripture promises that I claimed and lists of people and needs that I prayed for. This is prayer. Yet, I have learned that this is just a small piece of the prayer pie. Our prayer relationship with God goes so much deeper than just listing our demands and our needs along with the people whose lives need help.

What we should seek in prayer is that God breathe into our spirits the depths of His heart. We are seeking to know our Father’s heart.

Prayer needs to become an adoring, uncomplicated and enduring attention on God.[1] True prayer should create a longing to love God more. When we pray we are allowing our hearts and spirits to ascend toward God. We are seeking the nearness of his presence.

When we pray we should invite God’s Spirit to fall upon us. We recognize that God is present with us. We focus our hearts and spirits upon the Lord. We want to contemplate who He is and reach out in love to him. True prayer is starting to happen.

Now we can place our hearts, spirits and minds in the brilliance of God’s Light. We are exposing them to the warmth of His heavenly love. This will begin to purity them so we can now pray from His heart rather than from ours.

Prayer involves centering our hearts, spirits and minds on Jesus. We are lifting them up to him with a stirring of our love for Him. We are seeking Him for HIS sake only and not for anything we might receive from Him. Our sole concern is to center everything upon Him. [2] If I am aware of myself when I am praying, my attention is diverted from God. If it is God whom I love and all pleasure disappears from my praying, what difference does it make? God is still God, even in times of dryness. Do I love the comfort of God or the God of comfort?

This deepening love for God will create a deeper walk with God that will provide a deeper intimate union with God that will keep me unmoved and untroubled at all times!

We are seeking to live our lives in such a way that just as we can feel the warmth of the sun on our faces, the people around us will feel the warmth of God radiating out from our lives. Our daily lives are becoming a prayer to the Lord. We are learning to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Our lives are beginning to bear the imprint of our Father upon them.

We are learning the language of God. We are growing in our awareness of the heart of God. God begins to laugh into our souls and sing within our hearts and dance within our spirits. This is what prayer is all about!
[1] Francis DeSales; Living Love; pg 45
[2] The Cloud of Unknowing, pg 40-41