The Prayer of the Heart

9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.[a] 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done,[b] on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread,[c] 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.[d] Matthew 6:9-13   "The prayer of the heart is a prayer that does not allow us to limit our relationship with God to interesting words or pious emotions. By its very nature such prayer transforms our whole being into Christ precisely because it opens the eyes of our soul to the truth of God. In our heart we come to see ourselves as sinners embraced by the mercy of God. In our heart we come to see ourselves as sinners embraced by the mercy of God. It is this vision that makes us cry out, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Temptations and struggles remain to the end of our lives, but with a pure heart we will be restful even in the midst of a restless existence." -Henri J.M. Nouwen