Way to pierce my heart, Jesus.

"What was your aim in reading the passage?" he asked.
"My aim? To arrive at an understanding of the text, I suppose."
"Anything else?"
Jim paused. "No. What else is there?"
"Well, there is more than just finding out what it says and what it means. There are also questions, like what did it say to you? Were you struck by anything? And, most important, did you experience God in your reading?" The brother assigned Jim the same text for that entire day, urging him to read it as much with his heart as with his head.
...
The next day they met again. In despair Jim told the brother that he simply could not do what was being asked of him. It was then that the wisdom behind the jogging shoes became evident: "You're trying too hard Jim. You're trying to control God. Go back to this passage and this time be open to receive whatever God has for you. Don't manipulate God; just receive. Communion with him isn't something you institute. It's like sleep. You can't make yourself sleep, but you can create the conditions that allow sleep to happen.


- Richard J. Foster, Prayer.