continue on to Prayer Quotes, part 2 of 2
25 Great Prayer Quotes:
“Prayer is an expression of needing grace.” -Agnes Biney (submitted by Hannah Palmer)
“I spoke to a group of ladies at church several years ago about prayer and developing time to pray for others daily. I grew up in a Christian household… always prayed daily, but it was the Teen Advisors’ ‘LifeGuard Project’ that developed my habit of praying specifically for another person (or other people) at a specific time each day. I have continued that for years past the time of being partnered with someone specific in TA’s. At 8:30 every morning, I stop and pray for others. It became a lovely habit.” -Linell Pringle
from Christy Collins: “My favorite verse about prayer is Psalm 142:3-4, ‘I pour out my complaint before [the Lord]; I tell my trouble before Him. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way.’ “
My favorite part of a hymn about prayer is from the hymn ‘Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates’ by Georg Weissel, and says, “Fling wide the portals of your heart; make it a temple, set apart from earthly use for heav’n’s employ, adorned with prayer and love and joy. Redeemer, come! I open wide my heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide! Let me Thy inner Presence feel; Thy grace and love in me reveal.”
My most recent favorite literary quote about prayer is from Paulo Coelho‘s book, Like the Flowing River, and says, “Let us ask the Lord to send [him] a great temptation, and if he manages to conquer it, let us ask the Lord to send him another, and another. And when he is once more struggling against temptations, let us pray that he may never say, “Lord, remove this demon from me.” let us pray that he asks: “Lord, give me strength to confront evil.”
A favorite prayer quote about the desperation and necessity of prayer is by C.S. Lewis and is found in The Weight of Glory: “I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time – waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God – it changes me.”
My friend Trey Lyon mentioned a similar Lewis citation: “From the film Shadowlands, about the life of C.S. Lewis, particularly his marriage to Joy Gresham and her battle with cancer. His friend says Lewis’ prayers are being answered. Harry: ‘Christopher can scoff, Jack, but I know how hard you’ve been praying; and now God is answering your prayers.’ C.S. Lewis: ‘That’s not why I pray, Harry. I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God, it changes me.’ ”
“We got to pray just to make it today.” -MC Hammer (submitted by Brian Hite)
from Justin Walters: “Fiddler on the Roof has shaped my conception of prayer… the way that Tevye keeps a constant line of open communication with God is how I view prayer… I am not good at a lot of the observances of religion but when I can make prayer something as natural as a running dialogue, it helps me to be mindful of God in my everyday life and takes away any feelings of intimidation about things like not knowing what to pray or worries that I am not remembering something in prayer like I should… I just talk to Him out loud or silently; it doesn’t matter – He hears me.”
“To me, prayer is basically understanding that God is with us at all times and in every situation, and sometimes it isn’t about you communicating to Him… sometimes it’s a still small voice saying something like ‘hey, you were just a big jerk to those folks. Go back and make that right.’ “
“Personally, i just love that in prayer i can have a conversation with Jesus any time and anywhere. Simple as that… a conversation with my best friend… and i love that.” -Claire Hughes
“A current quote on prayer I like a lot comes from a recent IHOP status: ‘The essence of Christianity is this: an on-going conversation with a real Person—Jesus.’ ” -Robin Kennedy
“Look at yourself, observe yourself. You are shortly going to pray; forgive with all your heart. If you want to quarrel with your enemy, quarrel first with your own heart. Quarrel, I tell you, quarrel with your own heart. Tell your heart, Don’t hate. But that heart of yours, those feelings of yours—are still hating. Tell your soul, “Stop hating. How will I pray, how will I be able to say Forgive us our debts? Well, I can say this, of course, but how can I say what follows? Just as we too.” We too what? “Just as we too forgive.” Where is your faith? Do what you say: Just as we too.” -Augustine, Sermon 49 (submitted by Sam Collins)
“This summer, I was part of a women’s study on Nehemiah. I think of it all the time, how he prayed specifically and confidently with expectation about approaching the king before he did it. And even in that, he knew it was God’s plan months before, and yet he continued to pray. I was so convicted about prayer in Nehemiah, especially by the first few chapters!” -Sally Baker
“My most difficult and rewarding times of prayer… come in being still and listening.” -Audrey Johnson
“No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere.” -Leonard Ravenhill (submitted by Anna Beth)
“I prefer to write my prayers in a journal. It keeps my hyper-brain from chasing rabbits. Keeps me on track. It’s also fun to go back through sometimes. I recently flipped through an old journal – saw where I had prayed about a specific relationship. Over a year later, God has completely transformed the relationship (and I had forgotten about praying for this). Very cool to see how God moves.” -Annette Duncan
“MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” -Thomas Merton (submitted by Brian Hite)
“Ministry without prayer is the highest form of arrogance.” -Katherine Kennedy
“Prayer is your relationship with God. You can’t have someone in your life if you don’t talk to them.” -Chas Jordan
“The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but that we will hear Him.” -William McGill (submitted by Brian Cohen)
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” -Matthew 6:5-8 (submitted by Zach Taylor)
“Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den…Until you know that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for: Prayer is for the accomplishment of a wartime mission.” -John Piper (submitted by Will Chambliss)
“I needed a kind of formality to my prayers – a quick ‘thank you, God’ every now and then didn’t cut it, so I started following the ATCIP method when I carve out time for prayer. That’s Acknowledge (simply praising Him to start), Thank Him, Confess to Him, Intercede for others, and lastly, Petition for yourself. I like using this acronym; it helps keep my mind focused and organized when praying.” -Jackson Turner
“God will only give you what you would have asked for if you knew everything He knows.” -Timothy Keller (submitted by Denise Johnson)
Like Trees Planted 