True petition does not reside in words spoken by the mouth but rather in thoughts of the heart. It is not our words, you see, that constitute the strongest voices in the presence of the most hidden ears of God, but our desires. If we ask with our mouths for eternal life but do not desire it in our hearts, our cries are silent. If, however, we desire it in our hearts, even if our mouths fall silent, we cry out in our silence. Saint Gregory the Great: Moralia on Job: Book 22:43