Gabriel Gonsalves's weekly inspiration, practical advice and spiritual wisdom for living wholeheartedly.
How to Pray from the Heart
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Dear Reader, When I was forty, I was living in Los Angeles and attending Agape International Spiritual Center. I remember sitting there, watching people pray in a way I had never heard before. Their words were affirmative and full of conviction, and I could feel something shift in me as I listened. I remember thinking, I would love to learn how to pray like that. Perhaps you, too, have wondered how to make prayer feel more like a living, heartfelt conversation with God. You may know the words of a familiar prayer, or you may have something on your heart and not know where to begin. What changes when you bring your whole heart into the words you speak? THIS WEEK'S REFLECTION What Makes a Prayer Heart-Centered?At Agape, I began studying affirmative prayer. I learned to recognize the presence of God, speak the qualities I was calling on, and give thanks. Around the same time, I learned the I AM Lord’s Prayer, which helped me experience God not only as a presence I was speaking to, but as a presence living within me. Years later, as I developed my heart meditation practice, I began bringing my attention into my heart before speaking. I would breathe gently and imagine my heart becoming one with the heart of God. The words were familiar, but my experience of them changed. I was present with the prayer, allowing it to reach my heart. Think of a familiar prayer you have said while your mind was somewhere else. If you pray the Our Father, for example, you might pause at “Thy will be done,” bring your attention to your heart, and offer a real concern to God. The words are the same, but now you are present with what you are offering. A heart-centered prayer brings more of you into that conversation. Your imagination helps you picture what you are praying for. Your words give it expression. Your heart brings feeling and sincerity. Your will helps you release the outcome, listen for guidance, and take an appropriate step. This doesn’t mean you must feel peaceful before you pray. If you are afraid, sad, or uncertain, you can bring those feelings to God. And you don’t have to abandon the prayers you already know. You can bring heart-centered presence to a familiar prayer or speak in your own words. Let’s take a moment to experience that together. THIS WEEK'S PRACTICE GO DEEPER How Prayer Works Through the Heart: A Beginner’s Guide to Heart-Centered PrayerIf you’d like to deepen the practice, I’ve written an introductory guide to heart-centered prayer to help you bring your whole being into your conversations with God. In the guide, you’ll learn an eight-step method you can use with a real desire or need, and see how it comes together in a prayer for love and connection. You’ll also discover how to bring your heart into a familiar prayer, and how to begin when you feel uncertain or don’t feel anything at all. Whether you’re new to prayer or looking to deepen a practice you already love, the guide gives you a place to begin and return to.
FINAL THOUGHTS Where You Pray FromWhen you pray from your heart, you pray from the part of you that is connected to the loving intelligence of God. You become aware of the emotional, energetic, and vibrational place from which you are speaking. This doesn’t mean pretending to feel peaceful when you don’t. It means bringing what is real into that connection and opening your heart to love and guidance. You can bring anything to God: a desire, a concern, gratitude, or a question you haven’t found words for yet. But where you pray from is more important than what you pray for. This week, when you pray, pause and ask yourself: What is my heart longing for? Bring your attention to your heart, speak what is true for you, and let your prayer come from there.
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The Feeling Heart
Gabriel Gonsalves's weekly inspiration, practical advice and spiritual wisdom for living wholeheartedly.
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