quotations about prayer
Bow, stubborn knees; and, heart, with strings of steel,
Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Hamlet
God's answers are wiser than our prayers.
CROFT M. PENTZ
The Complete Book of Zingers
Now, prayer, in the most general and abstracted notion of that word, may be described: the speech of the rational creature unto God, whether conceived in the heart, or uttered by the mouth; whereby we either celebrate his amiable perfections, confess our own defects, implore his divine power for the mercies we want, or thank him for the blessings we have received.
WILLIAM MCEWAN
"On Prayer", Select Essays Doctrinal & Practical on a Variety of the Most Important and Interesting Subjects in Divinity
Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.
CORRIE TEN BOOM
attributed, Pleasant Dreams: nighttime meditations for peace of mind
In memorizing the prayer, it may be helpful to remind yourself that you are not addressing some extraterrestrial being outside you. The kingdom of heaven is within us, and the Lord is enshrined in the depths of our own consciousness. In this prayer we are calling deep into ourselves, appealing to the spark of the divine that is our real nature.
EKNATH EASWARAN
God Makes the Rivers Flow
As a coal is revived by incense, so prayer revives the hopes of the heart.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
The Maxims and Reflections of Goethe
Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.
JOHN STEINBECK
The Grapes of Wrath
The most meaningful and spiritual prayers I have experienced contained many expressions of thanks and few, if any, requests.
DAVID A. BEDNAR
"Pray Always", October 2008
The prayer that yields the richest rewards of grace is the prayer we pray for our enemies.
CROFT M. PENTZ
The Complete Book of Zingers
Let us never forget to pray. God lives. He is near. He is real. He is not only aware of us but cares for us. He is our Father. He is accessible to all who will seek Him.
GORDON B. HINCKLEY
Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
BIBLE
James 5:16
It may be that ministers really think that their prayers do good, and it may be that frogs imagine that their croaking brings spring.
ROBERT G. INGERSOLL
"Which Way?"
Prayer is the stimulant of the feeble.
ABRAHAM MILLER
Unmoral Maxims
Prayer is ecstatic communication with your innernavigational computer.
TIMOTHY LEARY
Your Brain Is God
It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
MAHATMA GANDHI
Young India, January 23, 1930
Prayer must never be answered: if it is, it ceases to be prayer and becomes correspondence.
OSCAR WILDE
attributed, The Epigrams of Oscar Wilde
Prayer is the spirit speaking truth to Truth.
PHILIP JAMES BAILEY
Festus
Whooah, we're half way there
WOOOOAH Livin on a prayer
BON JOVI
"Livin' on a Prayer"
And from the prayer of Want, and plaint of Woe,
O never, never turn away thine ear!
Forlorn, in this bleak wilderness below,
Ah! what were man, should Heaven refuse to hear!
JAMES BEATTIE
The Lay of the Last Minstrel
Prayer is the most direct expression of the religious consciousness.
LOUIS BERKHOF
Biblical Archaeology