To know something by heart is an interesting English expression. It means we have memorised something; we can recite it without needing the text in front of us. But could it be more than this? Could it mean that these words and what they convey have moved from the head to the heart? That they have lodged themselves deep in our consciousness, where we are not only able to recall them instantly, but they are shaping how we see and interpret everything else, including how we act? Praying by Heart is a book about the Lords Prayer for those who know it but dont know it, as well as for those who dont yet know it at all. In it, Stephen Cottrell explores the words of the prayer Jesus taught us - its plainness, its grandeur and its profound inclusivity - to discover not only a pattern for prayer, but also a pattern for life.
Praying by Heart : The Lord's Prayer for Everyone