How do you pray? Often my prayers slip into comfortable routines, predictable patterns, yet prayer is all around us – like our breath. So many different ways to talk with God are waiting to explore. The following is a part of a three-week series on prayer and its many forms. Come explore with me ways to address God when words are inadequate and let’s get to know God better by spending time with Him.
What is prayer?
Prayer has been defined in many ways. Here are a few great quotes describing prayer to start our series:
“True, whole prayer is nothing but love.” St. Augustine
“A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized that prayer is listening.” Soren Kierkegaard
“To pray is to work, to work is to pray.”
Motto of the Benedictine Order
“Praying is simply a two-way conversation between you and God. It is not the body’s posture but the heart’s attitude that counts when we pray. Prayer is not our using of God; it more often puts us in a position where God can use us.”
Billy Graham
“If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts, we think rightly. The blood flows ceaselessly, and breathing continues ceaselessly, we are not conscious of it, but it is always going on. We are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect joint with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not the exercise, it is the life.”
Oswald Chambers
“When we pray to God we must be seeking nothing – nothing.” ~Saint Francis of Assisi
“Of all the duties enjoined by Christianity none is more essential and yet more neglected than prayer.” —François Fénelon
Do you have a favorite quote about prayer?
Great quotes on prayer, Jean. I am looking forward to your series on prayer (I don’t know any good quotes about prayer — sorry!).
I don’t have a favorite, but I really like all those. But Chambers, with the breath and blood, is one I love. Thanks Jeanie.