“What is prayer? Prayer is doxology, praise, thanksgiving, confession, supplication and intercession to God…Prayer is the way to renewal and spiritual life. Prayer is aliveness to God. Prayer is strength, refreshment, and joy. Through the grace of God and our disciplined efforts prayer lifts us up from our isolation to a conscious, loving communion with God in which everything is experienced in a new light. Prayer becomes a personal dialogue with God, a spiritual breathing of the soul, a foretaste of the bliss of God's kingdom…As we pray deeply within our hearts we grow in prayer. By the grace of God we suddenly catch a glimpse of the miracle of the presence of the Holy Spirit working within us. At first it is only a spark but later it becomes a flame freeing and energizing our whole being, provided we do nothing to grieve the Holy Spirit; and if we do sin we repent of our sin immediately and ask for God's forgiveness. To experience the fire of God's holy love, to give it space within us to do its cleansing and healing work as a breath of the Holy Spirit, and to use it as light and power for daily living -- such are the goals as well as the fruits of true prayer.” (Orthodox Prayer Book)
“Prayer is more about union and communion with God and our heart for Him than it is about requests and desired outcomes. The Holy Spirit within us longs to guide our hearts into a deeper and deeper prayer life. As this happens, our supplications in prayer begin to align more and more with God’s will. As our faith grows, we learn that our love for God and relationship with Him is not dependent on our notions of what our outcomes to prayer requests should be. We learn to trust Him no matter what, and our prayer becomes more about the joy of the relationship with Him than requests for certain outcomes.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
“During prayer it is necessary that your heart should sincerely desire that which you ask for, should feel the truth of what you are saying, and this comes naturally to a pure heart…Our task in prayer is to unite the intellect and the heart, to find the place of the heart and draw the intellect down into it. There, when the heart has been found and the intellect is devoted to guarding it, true prayer, the prayer of the heart, becomes possible.” (St. John of Kronstadt, Albert S. Rossi)
“Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive” when we ask for spiritually profitable things…We have a boldness toward God, that is easy access; and because of that boldness, whatever we ask, we by all means shall receive from Him. Wherefore? Because we are keeping His commandments.” (Saint Theophan the Recluse, Blessed Theophylact)
“God does not give us exactly what we ask for. Instead He gives us what we would have asked for if we had known everything He knows.” (Pastor Timothy Keller)