Quotes about prayer (1152 quotes, page 12)

“I had such great hope for him. He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”

Heath Ledger (1979–2008) Australian actor

Mel Gibson, actor, whose on-screen eldest son, Gabriel Martin, was played by Heath Ledger in The Patriot. [In Quotes: Heath Ledger Tributes", http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7204267.stm, BBC News, Entertainment, bbc.co.uk (BBC), January 23, 2008, 2008-08-23]

Family , Loss , Hope , Age

“Excommunications are only external penalties and they do not deprive man of the common spiritual prayers of the Church.”

Pope Leo X Exsurge Domine

Exsurge Domine (1520)

Penalty

“His religious requirements—that the service come from Cranmer’s rites in the old prayer book, that it take 33 minutes or less, that the church be within 10 minutes’ driving distance and that the altar be sufficiently simple so that it wouldn’t remind him of a gift shop—limited his choice of parishes.”

John Cheever (1912–1982) American novelist and short story writer

Susan Cheever, Home before Dark Houghton Mifflin (1984).

Books

“For there is not one single race of men, whether barbarians, or Greeks, or whatever they may be called, nomads, or vagrants, or herdsmen living in tents, among whom prayers and giving of thanks are not offered through the name of the crucified Jesus.”

Justin Martyr book Dialogue with Trypho

Dialogue with Trypho, chapter CXVII. c160AD. In ANF1, that is, Roberts A, Donaldson J and Coxe AC (1885) Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol 1. [ANF1 footnote: "Note this testimony to the ... Church in the second century...."]

Men

“Do not destroy a church, synagogue, or fire temple with respect to which an agreement has been concluded with you, and do not permit the construction of a new church or fire temple. Do not drag the lamb to its place of slaughter of sharpen the knife over the head of the animal. Do not combine two prayers without an excuse.”

Umar II (681–720) Umayyad caliph

Letter to Abd al-Rahman bin Nu'aym, also quoted in History of the Prophets and Kings, Vol. 24, p. 101

Animals

“I have found heaven on earth, since heaven is God and God is in my soul. The day I understood that, everything became clear to me, and I would like to share this secret with all those I love so that they, too, might cling to God through everything, so that this prayer of Christ might be fulfilled: "Father, may they be made perfectly one!"”

Elizabeth of the Trinity (1880–1906) French Carmelite nun and mystic

Letters to Madame de Sourdon, L 122, 15 June 1902; as quoted in Always Believe in Love: Selected Writings of Elizabeth of the Trinity by Marian Murphy, 2017, p. 109 https://books.google.it/books?id=JX3LDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA109.

Soul , God , Secret , Christ

“Doubt is never simply an intellectual problem. There is always a spiritual dimension to doubt, as well. There is an enemy of your souls, Satan, who hates you intensely and is bent on your destruction and who will do everything in his power to see that your faith is destroyed. And therefore when we have these intellectual doubts and problems we should never look at them as something that is spiritually neutral or divorce them from the spiritual conflict that we are involved in. Rather we need to take these doubts to God in prayer, to admit them honestly, to talk to our Christian friends about them, to not stuff them or hide them, we need to deal with them openly and honestly and talk to people about them and seek God's help in dealing with them.”

William Lane Craig (1949) American Christian apologist and evangelist

Dealing with Doubt

18 November 2007

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-fDyPU3wlQ (2:11 into video)

God , Soul , Faith , Hate

“Prayers will be offered up for the success of our work in temples and in churches also; for it will bring relief from an old burden, which all have suffered.
But we must first bring enlightenment to men's minds. The idea must make its way into the most distant, miserable holes where our people dwell. They will awaken from gloomy brooding, for into their lives will come a new significance. Every man need think only of himself, and the movement will assume vast proportions.
And what glory awaits those who fight unselfishly for the cause!
Therefore I believe that a wondrous generation of Jews will spring into existence. The Maccabeans will rise again.
Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews who wish for a State will have it.
We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes.
The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness.
And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own welfare, will react powerfully and beneficially for the good of humanity.”

Theodor Herzl (1860–1904) Austro-Hungarian journalist and writer

VI : Conclusion
Der Judenstaat [The Jewish State] (1896)

Home , Success , Wealth , Spring

“Accursed be prayers, to hell with fasts,
and let confession of faith be damned.
O Bullah, I have found the Lord within,
and the world wanders in delusion!”

Bulleh Shah (1680–1757) Punjabi poet

Bulleh Shah, The Love-Intoxicated Iconoclast, p. 130
Stanzas

World , Hell , Faith

“True love has be-guided me, O friend!
Reveal to me the land of my Beloved.
At my parents' I was an innocent maid.
With love to me He has robbed me of my heart.
Logic, semantics and a store of knowledge—
Such pedantry has left me devoid of Him.
Of what use are fasts and prayers to them,
Who have drunk deep from the front of love?
Sitting in the company of the Spouse,
Bullah is free from all rituals, O friend!”

Bulleh Shah (1680–1757) Punjabi poet

Bulleh Shah, The Love-Intoxicated Iconoclast, p. 129
Poetry

Heart , Knowledge , Parent , Love

“Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear”

Jackson Browne (1948) American singer-songwriter

For a Dancer (1974)

World , Drawing

“Oh come, please come, to the Poor Mouth Fair
Where the Saints kneel round in their underwear
And say out prayers that most need saying
For needful sinners who've forgotten praying;
And in every alcove and niche you spy
The living dead who envy the long since gone
Who never wished to die.”

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) American writer

Christ, Old Student in a New School (1972)

Envy , Dead

“It is the prayer of my innermost being
To realize my supreme identity
In the liberated play of consciousness,
The Vast Expanse.
Now is the moment,
Here is the place of Liberation.”

Alex Grey (1953) American artist

Art Psalms (2008), The Vast Expanse

“Whatever work I did became worship of the Lord;
Whatever word I uttered became a prayer;
Whatever this body of mine experienced became
the sadhana of Saiva Tantra
illumining my path to Parmasiva.”

Lalleshwari (1320–1392) Indian writer, mystic and saint

Lal Ded Vekhas http://ikashmir.net/lalded/vakhs.html
Poetry, From Kashmiri Poetry

“Grudge no expense — yield to no opposition — forget fatigue — till, by the strength of prayer and sacrifice, the spirit of love have overcome.”

Maria Weston Chapman (1806–1885) American abolitionist

In Liberator, August 13, 1836, as quoted in [Thomsett, Michael C., Thomsett, Linda Rose, A Speaker's Treasury of Quotations: Maxims, Witticisms and Quips for Speeches and Presentations, https://books.google.com/books?id=igYyBgAAQBAJ, 17 March 2009, McFarland, 978-0-7864-2945-5, 75]

Forgetting , Love , Making love

“If "thank you" is the only prayer you can utter in your lifetime, that would be enough.”

Meister Eckhart (1260–1328) German theologian

Very commonly attributed to Eckhart on the internet and some publications, the source of the first formulation however is: A Bucket of Surprises‎ (2002) by J. John and Mark Stibbe.
Disputed

“Canadians deserve more than "thoughts and prayers."”

Justin Trudeau (1971) 23rd Prime Minister of Canada; eldest son of Pierre Trudeau

May 1, 2020 statement https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/justin-trudeau-announces-canada-banning-assault-style-weapons-n1198046 announcing the immediate ban of more than 1,500 models and variants of military-grade assault-style firearms in the wake of the 2020 attacks in Nova Scotia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Nova_Scotia_attacks, the deadliest mass shooting spree in Canadian history.
The phrase "thoughts and prayers" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughts_and_prayers has received criticism as an empty or disingenuous gesture of condolences in the aftermath of such preventable incidents as mass shootings (particularly in the United States), in lieu of concrete actions or proposals to reduce or eliminate the likelihood of these incidents occurring again.

“Unlike the West, which is already nervous about the arrival of refugees, Moscow alone has taken in more Muslims than the whole of Europe has done by now. And nobody in the world is aware of it. And there is no hysteria, no police, no gas, no physical clashes. Of course, problems do arise sometimes with people who arrive but these problems get solved within the law, and most importantly, the good Orthodox-Muslim relations are creating an atmosphere for Muslims here to live peacefully and for the Orthodox to treat Muslims respectfully, with tolerance, like brothers. You probably felt what remarkable, good relations have developed between the Orthodox people and Muslims in Russia. We are very glad that finally this big mosque has been built in the city of Moscow to become a place of prayer for many Muslims who live in Moscow and visit Moscow.”

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow (1946) primate of the Russian Orthodox Church

24 September 2015 http://www.pravmir.com/west-should-learn-from-russia-to-accept-muslim-refugees-patriarch-kirill/ at a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at his residence in Peredelkino, Moscow Region.

Law , People , Problem , Relation ships

“The sworn secret is out. Pope Francis named me auxiliary bishop and I am waking up to what it means. Put a few prayers in for me. I will need them and be grateful.”

Gregory J. Studerus (1948) Roman Catholic priest

Hudson pastor becomes a bishop https://www.nj.com/opinion/2020/02/hudson-pastor-to-become-a-bishop-faith-matters.html (Februay 27, 2020)

Secret

“When the Jews were prisoners of the King of Babylon, they sent a message to the Jews of Jerusalem, saying,
Pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, and for the life of Belshazzar his son, that their days may be like the days of heaven upon the earth. And the Lord, will give us strength, … and we will live under the shadow of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, and under the shadow of Belshazzar his son, and we will serve them for a long time and find favor in their sight.
This prayer was offered by prisoners – and they prayed for the king their jailer. He was their enemy, and yet they prayed for him…”

Petr Chelčický book The Net of Faith

Source: The Net of Faith (c. 1443), Chapter 92, Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:1-3 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%202:1-3&version=NIV There Can Be No Christian Sovereignty

Life , Time

“With tears we sow seeds of prayer in the earth of the heart, hoping to reap the harvest in joy.”

Diadochos of Photiki (400–486) Byzantine saint

§ 73
On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination (480 AD)

Hope , Joy , Tear , Heart

“Mary teaches us in prayer, in the Rosary, that’s one thing; but in those cultural traditions as well – in the traditions of the Garifuna people, in the traditions of the Maya, the Kriol, the Mestizo, are all round our country – ways that bring us together, across generations, and help us to squeeze that poison out of our society. So newly-elected Bishop Lawrence Nicasio: lead us; guide us; show us how to use the ruguma, just as Jesus said: Remain in my love, that my love might be in you and your love might be complete; that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my command; love one another, as I have loved you. So show us how to integrate the daily prayer of the Rosary, as Mary instructed us at Fatima; teach us how to live the Garifuna greeting: darangila, luma, esieni – peace and love”

Christopher Glancy (1960) Second bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago.

Roman Catholic Church Installs New Bishop Larry Nicasio https://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/146238 (May 15, 2017)

Peace , Country , People , Help

“It's organized chaos. Everything is different. You have a sound check—a very thorough sound check—to make sure that everything is worked out so smoothly and then you're in glam, and then you have a small prayer before you hit the stage and it's it's a lot of fun. That's what it's all about. You want to come together and be thankful for having the privilege of getting to do what you love for work.”

Erika Jayne (1969) American singer, actress and television personality

Interview to L'Officiel (2018)

Love , Making love

“I knew God had heard my prayer when I learned that it was you and no other who drew this case.”

Orson Scott Card book Heartfire

“One judge is coughing his life out into bloody handkerchiefs and the other is burying his wife, and you think this is how God answers your prayers?”
Source: The Tales of Alvin Maker, Heartfire (1998), Chapter 11.

God , Learning

“And what guidance did you receive for all your prayers, lady?”

Lois McMaster Bujold book The Hallowed Hunt

She bit her lip. “None.”
Source: World of the Five Gods series, The Hallowed Hunt (2005), Chapter 6 (p. 104)

“I just depend on a lot of prayer and meditation. I believe that without God I am nobody, but that with God, I can do anything.”

Dolly Parton (1946) American singer-songwriter and actress

As quoted in "Dolly Parton: Gee, She’s So Nice" https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/dolly-parton-gee-shes-really-nice (7 December 1980), by Roger Ebert, Roger Ebert
1980s

God , Dependency

“The ceremony of lifting up our hands in prayer is designed to remind us that we are far removed from God, unless our thoughts rise upward.”

John Calvin book Institutes of the Christian Religion

Book 3, Chapter 20, Section 5
Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536; 1559)

God

“It is certain that men’s prayers are more pleasing to God if they go up to Him from a pure heart; from souls, that is, that are free from all sin.”

Pope Pius IX (1792–1878) 255th Pope of the Catholic Church

Act. et Decr. Sacr. Concil. Recent., Coll. Lac. tom. VII, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1890, col. 10 as quoted in Paenitentiam Agere, encyclical by Pope John XXIII (1962). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Soul , God , Heart , Men

“Every prayer must be accompanied with action, otherwise, you will be basing your whole life upon expectations.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Life

“Religion is not an unrealistic phenomenon. You must have faith and keep your daily prayer.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Religion , Faith

“Some prayers have contributed so much in teaching men how to complain and whine to God instead of doing things themselves. Thus, they have become idle and expecting more than their abilities can ever achieve.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

God , Men

“If all the prayers have been answered successfully, then a madman's prayer can easily destroy the entire universe in a flash of a second.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Universe

“Peace doesn't come through hope, prayer or time; we have to reach out and grasp what is within reach.”

Garry Davis (1921–2013) American actor turned peace activist (1921-2013)

As quoted in Garry Davis Cult, Life (Jan 24, 1949)

Peace , Time , Hope

“My new responsibility is higher, it requires renewed vigour, commitment and strength, the prayers of my brethren are needed. I need your prayers to succeed, I need your prayers to take catholic church and the society to the promised land.”

Matthew Ishaya Audu (1959) Nigerian catholic priest

Cleric urges Nigerians to pray for national unity, development https://newsdiaryonline.com/cleric-urges-nigerians-to-pray-for-national-unity-development/ (May 10, 2021)

“Holiness isn’t something that just happens. It’s something that is nurtured, something that grows, something that is benefited by things like rhythm, stability — if you're always rushing and never quite can fit in your nightly prayers, well, then you wind up not praying a lot of times.”

Steven J. Lopes (1975) American Roman Catholic prelate (born 1975)

Bishop Steven Lopes on Ordinariate’s Missal and Gift of English Catholic Patrimony https://www.ncregister.com/news/bishop-steven-lopes-on-ordinariate-s-missal-and-gift-of-english-catholic-patrimony (December 7, 2016)

Time

“People knelt in prayer, some moving their lips. Envy 'em, really I do. I envy God, too, privy to their secrets. Faith, the least exclusive club on Earth, has the craftiest doorman. Every time I've stepped through its wide-open doorway, I find myself stepping out on the street.”

David Mitchell book Cloud Atlas

Source: Cloud Atlas (2004), Letters from Zedelghem (Part 1) p. 75

God , People , Secret , Faith

“How should a man behave? Look at Daniel: no-one found anything in him to complain about except for his prayers to the Lord his God.”

Poemen (340–450) Egyptian monk and desert father

Saying 53
Context: A brother asked Abba Poemen, "How should a man behave?". The old man said to him, "Look at Daniel: no-one found anything in him to complain about except for his prayers to the Lord his God."

God

“God is Spirit in whom we "live, and move, and have our being." We are the offspring of this Spirit and can make conscious contact with it by turning our attention away from material things and thinking about Spirit. As we practice this kind of prayer our innate Spirit showers its life energies into our conscious mind and a great soul expansion follows.”

Charles Fillmore (1854–1948) American mystic

Source: Teach Us to Pray with Cora Fillmore (1941)

Soul , God , Thinking , Life

“We have been so persistently taught that prayer consists in asking God for some human need that we have lost sight of our spiritual identity and have become a race of praying beggars.”

Charles Fillmore (1854–1948) American mystic

Source: Teach Us to Pray with Cora Fillmore (1941)

God

“Above all practice the presence of God in prayer. Divine Mind has given us all potentialities, in prayer we recognize it as the source of these, and with a right understanding of our relation to it our soul grows great with infinite capacity, all potentiality. "With God all things are possible."”

Charles Fillmore (1854–1948) American mystic

"All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine."
Source: Teach Us to Pray with Cora Fillmore (1941)

Soul , God , Understanding

“When I was 13, I told my parents I didn’t believe in God any more. I wanted to be an atheist because I believed that religion should be about community and having a place to go in prayer, not something that should determine women’s freedoms.”

Elizabeth Olsen (1989) American actress

Source: Ryder, Caroline. "Elizabeth Olsen cover interview for Dazed&Confused" https://www.carolineryder.com/carolineryder/2013/09/elizabeth-olsen-cover-interview-for.html. (September 2, 2013).

God , Freedom , Communication , Religion

“We ask for prayers and support for our seminarians so that they can recover soon, and for the medical workers looking after them.”

Samuel Oton Sidin (1954) 21st-century Indonesian Catholic bishop

Source: Covid-19 infects 30 Indonesian seminarians https://www.ucanews.com/news/covid-19-infects-30-indonesian-seminarians/89566 (17 September 2020)

Support

“You should develop the habit of offering voluntary prayers (nafl) regularly.”

Mirza Masroor Ahmad (1950) spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Virtual Meetings
Source: Virtual Online Meeting with Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Auxiliary from Germany https://www.alislam.org/press-release/over-100-members-of-majlis-khuddam-ul-ahmadiyya-germany-have-honour-of-virtual-meeting-with-head-of-ahmadiyya-muslim-community/

“In my Archdiocese of Asmara, we have declared this week as a week of prayer from last Sunday to the coming Sunday. That is what we can do as a people of faith.”

Menghesteab Tesfamariam (1948) Eritrean Catholic archbishop

Source: Eritrean Archbishop describes new door of peace as a miracle https://www.vaticannews.va/en/africa/news/2018-06/eritrean-archbishop-describes-new-door-of-peace-as-a-miracle.html (27 June 2018)

Faith , People

“I believe that the religious have two main tasks. On the one hand, as Ezekiel says, to behave like sentinels, not spies: when there is a threat we must warn and try to solve the problem before it explodes, it is a very big responsibility and if there are so many problems it means that the sentinels did not carry out their job well. Then we must be intercessors and when there is hostility between two groups, families or people, we have to mediate in truth. It is also essential to always keep prayer alive for the Country and for the protagonists so that God converts the heart. Now, it can be said, that the heart of many is of stone, it is up to us to make it flesh. Religions here seek a common line to promote peace.”

Jean Zerbo (1943) Malian Roman Catholic cardinal

Source: Cardinal Zerbo: Catholic sentinels and mediators among violence and conflict http://www.fides.org/en/news/68204-AFRICA_MALI_Cardinal_Zerbo_Catholic_sentinels_and_mediators_among_violence_and_conflict (24 June 2020)

Country , Problem , God , Hostility

“Humanly, left to ourselves, we are incapable of doing a divine work, our power comes from God and it is in prayer and faith that it finds its source.”

Marcel Utembi Tapa (1959) Congolese catholic archbishop

Source: “Humanly, left to ourselves, we are incapable of doing a divine work”: DR Congo Prelate https://www.aciafrica.org/news/871/humanly-left-to-ourselves-we-are-incapable-of-doing-a-divine-work-dr-congo-prelate (26 February 2020)

Faith , God

“Aside from prayers, we are appealing for donations in cash or in-kind for the archdiocese’s ongoing relief operations.”

Gilbert Garcera (1959) Roman Catholic archbishop

Source: Philippine archbishop urges prayers, aid amid volcano eruption https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2020-01/philippines-volcano-eruption-archbishop-gracera-lipa-appeal.html (13 January 2020)

“Karaoke is kind of like a prayer. You’re not supposed to videotape that. I’m not a professional singer. I’m just enjoying my life and blowing off some steam with friends.”

Nicolas Cage (1964) American actor

"Nicolas Cage Is Ready to Be Taken Seriously Again" in Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/07/nicolas-cage-pig-interview (15 July 2021)

Life

“Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer.”

J.C. Ryle (1816–1900) Anglican bishop

Source: A Call to Prayer (1867), p. 16

“We try to educate the people as a Christian community. We have meetings and prayer time together. In this way, we do not judge things in terms of majority or minority in relationship to the other Christian denominations, because we work together so that all Christians may be one.”

Camillus Archibong Etokudoh (1949) Nigerian catholic priest

“A growing Church that participates in the nation's progress”: Nigerian Bishops comment (9 March 2009) Fides News Agecny http://www.fides.org/en/news/23120-AFRICA_NIGERIA_A_growing_Church_that_participates_in_the_nation_s_progress_Nigerian_Bishops_comment

People , Communication , Education , Time

“Without the head, man is a dead body. So too, without prayers, all other acts of worship are lifeless.”

Ashraf Ali Thanwi (1863–1943) Indian Muslim scholar

Ashraf Ali Thānwī, Hayātul Muslimeen p.71

Dead

“We never know if our prayers will be answered? Whether our hopes will be realized? Will all our efforts pay off? But what we do know for sure is that as long as we don't give up, we will never fail.”

Titon Rahmawan

Hope , Effort

Quotes about prayer page 12

Quotes about prayer
page 12