Prayer

"God warms his hands at man's heart when he prays."

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

"Every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth."

"Not what we wish, but what we want, Oh! let thy grace supply, The good unask'd, in mercy grant; The ill, though ask'd, deny."

"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, Uttered or unexpressed, The motion of a hidden fire That trembles in the breast."

"Prayer moves the arm Which moves the world, And brings salvation down."

"As down in the sunless retreats of the ocean Sweet flowers are springing no mortal can see, So deep in my soul the still prayer of devotion Unheard by the world, rises silent to Thee."

"O sad estate Of human wretchedness; so weak is man, So ignorant and blind, that did not God Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, We should be ruined at our own request."

"Now I lay me down to take my sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep; If I should die before I wake, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take."

"Father of All! in every age, In every clime ador'd, By saint, by savage, and by sage, Jehovah, Jove, or Lord!"

"If I am right, Thy grace impart, Still in the right to stay; If I am wrong, O teach my heart To find that better way!"

"In all thou dost first let thy Prayers ascend, And to the Gods thy Labours first commend, From them implore Success, and hope a prosperous End."

"They were ordinary soldiers, just the common Jean and Hans, One from the valley of the Rhine and one from fair Provence. They were simple-hearted fellows — every night each said his prayer: The one prayed Vater Unser and the other Notre Père."

"At the muezzin's call for prayer, The kneeling faithful thronged the square, And on Pushkara's lofty height The dark priest chanted Brahma's might. Amid a monastery's weeds An old Franciscan told his beads; While to the synagogue there came A Jew to praise Jehovah's name. The one great God looked down and smiled And counted each His loving child; For Turk and Brahmin, monk and Jew Had reached Him through the gods they knew."

"I pray the prayer the Easterners do, May the peace of Allah abide with you; Wherever you stay, wherever you go, May the beautiful palms of Allah grow; Through days of labor, and nights of rest, The love of Good Allah make you blest; So I touch my heart—as the Easterners do, May the peace of Allah abide with you."

"In vota miseros ultimus cogit timor."

"Nulla res carius constat quam quæ precibus empta est."

"If the one who offers prayer knew how much divine mercy is descending upon him, he would surely not raise his head from prostration."

"Earth bears no balsams for mistakes; Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool That did his will: but thou, O Lord, Be merciful to me, a fool."

"Four things which are not in thy treasury, I lay before thee, Lord, with this petition:— My nothingness, my wants, My sins, and my contrition."

"Prayers are heard in heaven very much in proportion to our faith. Little faith will get very great mercies, but great faith still greater."

"To pray together, in whatever tongue or ritual, is the most tender brotherhood of hope and sympathy that men can contract in this life."

"Holy Father, in thy mercy, Hear our anxious prayer. Keep our loved ones, now far absent, 'Neath Thy care."

"Lord, thy most pointed pleasure take, And stab my spirit broad awake; Or, Lord, if too obdurate I, Choose Thou, before that spirit die, A piercing pain, a killing sin, And to my dead heart turn them in."

"My debts are large, my failures great, my shame secret and heavy; yet when I come to ask for my good, I quake in fear lest my prayer be granted."

"Speak to Him thou for He hears, and spirit with spirit can meet— Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet."

"More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend?"

"Battering the gates of heaven with storms of prayer."

"'Twas then belike," Honorious cried, "When you the public fast defied, Refused to heav'n to raise a prayer, Because you'd no connections there."

"Prayer is The world in tune, A spirit-voyce, And vocall joyes, Whose Eccho is heaven's blisse."

"Desine fata deum flecti sperare precando."

"Audiit, et voti Phœbus succedere partem Mente didit, partem volucres dispersit in auras."

"J'ai toujours fait une prière à Dieu, qui est fort courte. La voici: Mon Dieu, rendez nos ennemis bien ridicules! Dieu m'a exaucé."

"Prayer moves the Hand which moves the world."

"Who is this before whose presence idols tumble to the sod? While he cries out—"Allah Akbar! and there is no god but God!""

"Making their lives a prayer."

"Though smooth be the heartless prayer, no ear in heaven will mind it; And the finest phrase falls dead, if there is no feeling behind it."

"The imperfect offices of prayer and praise."

""What is good for a bootless bene?" With these dark words begins my Tale; And their meaning is, whence can comfort spring When Prayer is of no avail?"

"The bells of Ryleston seemed to say, While she sat listening in the shade, With vocal music, "God us ayde!" And all the hills were glad to bear Their part in this effectual prayer."

"Doubt not but God who sits on high, Thy secret prayers can hear; When a dead wall thus cunningly Conveys soft whispers to the ear."

"A certain joyful, though humble, confidence becomes us when we pray in the Mediator's name. It is due to Him; when we pray in His name it should be without wavering. Remember His merits, and how prevalent they must be. " Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace.""

"The reason why we obtain no more in prayer, is because we expect no more. God usually answers us according to our own hearts."

"Let your prayers be composed of thanksgiving, praise, confession, and petition, without any argument or exhortation addressed to those who are supposed to be praying with you. Adopt no fixed forms of expression, except such as you obtain from Scripture. Express your desire in the briefest, simplest form, without circumlocution. Hallow God's name by avoiding its unnecessary repetition. Adopt the simple devotional phrases of Scripture; but avoid the free use of its figures, and all quaint and doubtful application of its terms to foreign subjects. Pray to God and not to man."

"Like an echo from a ruined castle, prayer is an echo from the ruined human soul of the sweet promise of God."

"In the primitive church were not prayers simple, unpremeditated, united; prayers of the well-taught apostle; prayers of the accomplished scholar; prayers of the rough but fervent peasant; prayers of the new and zealous convert; prayers which importuned and wrestled with an instant and irrepressible urgency; — were they not an essential part of that religion, which holy fire had kindled; and which daily supplications alone could fan?"

"How can He grant you what you do not desire to receive?"

"He that loveth little prayeth little; he that loveth much prayeth much."

"Any heart turned Godward feels more joy In one short hour of prayer, than e'er was raised By all the feasts of earth since its foundation."

"A good man's prayers Will from the deepest dungeon climb to heaven's height, And bring a blessing down."