ARE YOU FLUENT IN PRAYER?

Thought Adjuster: “For many among you, prayer is a very formal activity, as they have been taught to speak to the Divine using ‘holy’ or ‘sacred’ generic formulas. At times, they are repeated over and over, at the risk of dulling the mind and weakening the focus of the one dutifully ‘reciting’ them. Yet, on the positive side, they can act as conversation starters with the Divine.

“Just as you frequently engage in conversations by talking about the weather and then moving on to more interesting and intimate topics, such generic prayers could act as the primers for deeper ones.

“Don’t you think that the Father would relish hearing the confidences outflowing from your heart, rather than your mental regurgitations of prayers that He has by now heard bazillions of times? Which one would pique His interest? By truthfully confiding in Him and by asking Him questions that are relevant to your life, He will provide you with pertinent answers and you will get to discover for yourself how close and personal He is.

“When you set out to learn a foreign language, you start with the basics of that language until such time as you can speak in easy-flowing full sentences. Eventually, by applying yourself diligently, you become so fluent that you can think in that previously ‘foreign’ language, without resorting any longer to a dictionary or a translator.

“The same applies to prayer. What matters is that you learn to speak the language of your heart, rather than the one of your head that fails to impress the Father with its string of fancy words, missing their intended mark, as He wishes for a heart-to-heart connection—not a head-to-head one.

“Dear ones, don’t be shy! Don’t hold back! Your efforts at establishing a sincere communication with the Father will not go unnoticed, just as a parent greatly rejoices at his child’s first and often garbled words and becomes adept at reading between their lines, so to speak.

“By learning to talk to the Father from the very bottom of your heart, you will soon acquire a greater ease at expressing yourself. You will become fluent in prayer and such prayers will overflow in your life in many ways,asonce fully opened, your heart will remain open in your other relationships as well. Such prayers will become as important to you as the air you breathe.

“Eventually, you will become so comfortable sitting in the Divine Presence, that you will refrain from uttering a single word, so as not to contaminate this quality silence where a wonderful heart-to-heart communion takes place.”