Abraham Heschel on ... the Self

"The focus of prayer is not the self ... It is the momentary disregard of our personal concerns, the absence of self-centered thoughts, which constitute the art of prayer ... Thus, in beseeching Him for bread, there is one instant, at least, in which our mind is directed neither to our hunger nor to food, but to His mercy. This instant is prayer.
       "We start with a personal concern and live to feel the utmost."