Prayer: Macarius the Great on Prayer and the Heart

Macarius the Great (d. c. 391), one of the founders of the Egyptian desert tradition, taught that prayer must descend from the mind into the heart. He wrote: "The heart directs and governs all the other organs of the body. And when grace possesses the ranges of the heart, it rules over all the members and the thoughts. For there, in the heart, the mind abides, and all the thoughts of the soul." Prayer that remains merely intellectual, Macarius taught, has not yet reached its destination.

Macarius used the image of a pearl diver: just as the diver must plunge beneath the surface to find treasure, the person who prays must descend from surface thoughts into the depth of the heart where God dwells.

Practical application: During prayer, place your hand on your heart as a physical reminder to pray from the heart, not merely the head. When you notice that your prayer has become mere words or thoughts, pause and breathe deeply, allowing your attention to settle into your chest. Macarius teaches that the journey from head to heart, though it is only eighteen inches, is the longest journey in the spiritual life.