Take Words

"At certain hours we recall our minds from other cares and business--in which somehow or other desire itself grows cool--to the business of prayer, admonishing ourselves by the words of our prayer to fix attention upon that which we desire, for fear that what had begun to lose heat might become altogether cold, and be finally extinguished if the flame were not more frequently fanned."

"When you pray you need piety, not verbosity. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him
(Matt 6:8). Do not speak too much, therefore, he knows what you need. . . But he wished you to pray for this reason, that he might give you desire, and that his gifts might not be lightly esteemed; for it is he himself who insinuates this desire."

"The Lord our God requires us to ask, not that our wish may be made known to him--for to him it cannot be unknown--but that through the medium of prayer, that desire may be developed in us by virtue of which we may receive what he is prepared to bestow."
Augustine, from Augustine on Prayer


"Take words with you
And return to the Lord."
Hosea 14:3


Prayer does not teach God what we need. It prepares us to recognize the source of God's blessings when they come for it is he who continually guides our hearts as we pray to him.