And, as I replied in my post #633: "'How very most unusual!' (to borrow Horace Rumpole's words)." Perhaps you have forgotten (or were never made aware!) that in the Biblical perspective the heart was not seen as the seat of the emotions but as the seat of wisdom and the intellect. There are a number of passages which demonstrate that 'the heart' refers to using one's brain (or intellect), thinking and reasoning rationally and logically (thus the expression 'set it in your heart' in D'vorim 4:39 means 'consider it' or 'think about it').
I'm not too familiar with how prayers—i.e., requests—work in other communities, but prayers in Hebrew are normally expressed using the imperative; and so a verb in any other tense, voice or mood that appears in a prayer is unlikely to be something we're asking God to do. Incidentally, Hebrew does have a reflexive paradigm (called hithpaʿél, representing the verbs 'reflexive' mood), however it does not always have a reflexive meaning (doing something 'to oneself')—e.g., the verb l'hithpallél ('to pray') is reflexive in Hebrew. Go figure!!
Perhaps the phrase "
asking of the lord" is a bit misleading
rather before I know how or what to speak, I ask of the lord...if that makes more sense...
so I'm not sure if it's purely a heart or brain thing, more of your whole being (like breathing). What we are given in return is what God decides. When I
pray it's your typical bow, close my eyes, and speak plainly in a soft tone my thanks and my desires for mercy. I have taught myself to reconsider the nature of how God deals with us on a daily basis. If you believe in the living God you must also believe that God is actively working on our behalf constantly not just in a piecemeal fashion.
give thanks that what is given in return is life and a good nights sleep
