Page 296 - Mystic Pathways through the Bible

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290 Mystic pathways through the bible
For many, however, prayer becomes merely a repetition of hymns or words. Real prayer does not depend upon how many beautiful words you have selected to repeat constantly. It should not be merely lip service or an ostentatious ritual. As Lord Jesus urged His disciples:
... when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father that which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (KJ21 Matthew 6:6)
God responds not so much to your external display, but to the feeling that ows within your heart. What you offer to God in secret, God accepts; but if you offer it ostentatiously, God shies away.
To be truly prayerful, develop a childlike simplicity. Just as a child runs to his mother with absolute trust, you must be able to run to the loving Presence of God with a spirit of resignation and profound yearning.
The power of prayer depends upon the purity of your feeling, which must become free from egocentricities, untarnished by greed, anger, hatred, pride and gross sentiments. To be truly effective, prayer requires liberation from personal prejudices and limitations caused by gross feelings and erroneous functions of the mind. Most importantly, it depends on the intensity of your yearning to unite yourself