When we pray, our words and petitions must be properly ordered. They must have quietness and modesty in them. Let us consider that we are standing in the sight of God, to whom our bodily attitude and tone of voice must be pleasing. For it is characteristic of brash fellow to shout vociferously, the modest man on the contrary should pray quietly. Moreover, the Lord himself in his own teaching instructed us to pray in secret, in hidden and remote places, even in our own bedrooms. This is better suited to our faith, for thus we know that God is present everywhere that he hears and sees all and that, through the fullness of his majesty, he penetrates even hidden and secret places. For so it is written:”I am a God at hand and not a God afar off. If a man hides himself in secret places, will I therefore not see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?” And again:”The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

When we assemble in union with our brothers and celebrate the holy sacrifice with God’s priest, we should keep moderation and order in mind. We should not inflate our prayers with a flurry of words nor launch in a torrent of speech the petitions which ought to be made to God in a restrained way. God listens, not to the voice, but to the heart, and since he reads our thoughts he does not need to have his attention called by clamour.

(From the Treatise of St. Cyprian on The Lord’s Prayer.)