Of this kind of prayer St Paul saith thus: If I pray with the tongue, my spirit prayed, but my mind is without fruit. What then? I will pray also in the spirit, I will pray also in the mind; I will sing in the spirit, I will sing also in the mind. That is to say: If I pray with my tongue only, by the consent of my spirit, and with painstaking and diligence, it is meritorious, but my soul is not fed by it, for it feeleth not the fruit of spiritual sweetness by understanding. What then shall I do, saith St Paul? And he answers, I will pray with the exercise and desire of the spirit, and I will also pray more inwardly in my spirit without labour, in spiritual savour and sweetness of the love and the sight of God, by the which sight and feeling of love my soul is fed. (John Climacus)

Prayer need not end as communication to God, it can be communion with God.

Communication is a step toward communion, toward shared understanding.

In prayer we can strip away what separates us from God and reclaim what we have in common with God.

Just as a child learns to speak more clearly, listen with more understanding, and find his or her place in the family, so we can grow in what we share with God.

Surely we should bring to God what we want. Just as surely, we should stop to listen for what we need.