Prayer enlightens our soul, gives us true knowledge of God and mediates between God and man. Once a soul is raised up to heaven by prayer, it clings to God with the utmost tenderness. The soul, like a child crying tearfully for its mother, craves for the spiritual milk that God provides. The soul longs for the satisfaction of its desires. And because of this longing, receives gifts outweighing the whole created world.
Prayer gives joy to the spirit and peace to our heart.
St. John wrote of prayer, not words. He speaks of a longing for God, a love too deep for words. St. Augustine, too, wrote of prayer as a desire. Such a longing is a gift of God's grace. When the Lord gives this kind of prayer to a person, He gives him or her a great gift that cannot be taken away.