PREFACE<br > These reflections intuitively explore the transforma-<br >tions that mysteriously unfold in the hearts of those seek-<br >ing deeper intimacy with God in prayer. More specifical-<br >ly， they consist of my personal exploration into these<br >transformations. The book is， in effect， my prayer jour-<br >nal， which I wrote to enhance my efforts to clarify for<br >myself my own journey toward God in prayer. Thus，<br >what I offer in these pages are not the answers of an ex-<br >pert in prayer， but rather glimpses into the searchings of a<br >fellow pilgrim.<br > I experienced the writing of these reflections to be<br >somewhat like tuning a musical instrument. A tuning<br >fork is struck and then a string of the instrument is<br >plucked and slowly tightened as one searches for the<br >sound that begins to resonate with that of the fork.<br >Similarly， in the ongoing process of writing reflections<br >such as these I rise early for prayer. And in the silence<br >there is an image--not necessarily a visual image，<br >sometimes it is more an inner certitude， a kind of inner<br >truth. Then I slowly， prayerfully search for a word or a<br >pattern of words that keeps getting "tuned" until it<br >