Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/4746

4746 Prayer in spirit and in truth....

September 22, 1949: Book 54

A heartfelt thought of Me, a short prayer sent up to Me in spirit and in truth, is pleasing to Me and will be granted, just as I will always draw close to those who communicate with Me in thought, for I feel in contact with them because they try to find Me in absolute truth and therefore I can also let Myself be found by them. Formal prayers, however, are not pleasing to Me because they kill the spirit, they become monotonous conversations I can never listen to, since only the lips speak to Me and not the heart, hence these words will not reach Me because they don't arise from the heart but are merely uttered by the intellect. Anyone who wants to be heard by Me need not voice any words, I know how he feels in his heart, what he thinks and feels, yet only his conscious direction of thoughts to Me makes Me inclined towards a person, who thus recognises his Father in Me and believes that I will help him. He will be helped.... whereas a prayer can last forever without being successful.

In that case it will be a lip-prayer which I condemn because it can never be heartfelt, because it is not a prayer in spirit and in truth but only a formality which lacks all inner feeling. Communal lip-prayers are an abomination to Me, they literally make it impossible to establish such heartfelt contact with Me since each person will, understandably, have different thoughts, just as each one has different problems which, however, are not touched upon, thus the prayer is everything else but a confidential dialogue with Me which I, however, require in order to be able to grant the petitions. For only the intimate dialogue with Me expresses a person's faith, the confidence of assured help, which is the prerequisite in order to be able to grant people the help. And therefore you should withdraw into your closet if you want to pray, you should withdraw within yourselves and allow for My presence with heartfelt thoughts which show your love for Me.... Then you will pray as is pleasing to Me and then your prayer will surely be granted....

Amen

Translated by Heidi Hanna