Page:The Gist of Swedenborg.djvu/42

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26


PRAYER

"O Thou who hearest prayer;
Unto Thee shall all flesh come."
Psalm, LXV, 2

PRAYER, in itself considered, is speech with God. There is then some inward view of the objects of the prayer, and answering to that something like an influx into the perception or thought. Thus there is a kind of opening of the man's interiors toward God, with a difference according to the man's state and according to the nature of the object of the prayer. If one prays out of love and faith and only about and for things heavenly and spiritual, then there appears in the prayer something like revelation, which shows itself in the affection of the suppliant, in hope, solace, or an inner gladness.

Arcana Cœlestia, n. 2535