Prayer or Swear
There is more religion in some men’s curses than in some men’s prayers, especially if the former is sincere and the latter perfunctory. –J. W. Mac Gorman
Dominie at the Bedside
Leslie Weatherhead tells the story of an old Scot who was quite ill, and the family called for their dominie, or minister. As he entered the sick room and sat down, he noticed another chair on the opposite side of the bed, a chair which had also been drawn close. The pastor said, “Well, Donald, I see I’m not your first visitor for the day.”
The old man looked up, was puzzled for a moment, then recognized from the nod of the head that the pastor had noticed the empty chair. “Well, Pastor, I’ll tell you about that chair. Many years ago I found it quite difficult to pray, so one day I shared this problem with my pastor. He told me not to worry about kneeling or about placing myself in some pious posture. Instead, he said, ‘Just sit down, put a chair opposite you, and imagine Jesus sitting in it, then talk with Him as you would a friend.’” The aged Scot then added, “I’ve been doing that ever since.”
A short time later the daughter of the Scot called the pastor. When he answered, she informed him that her father had died very suddenly and she was quite shaken for she had no idea death was so near. Then she continued, “I had just gone to lie down for an hour or two, for he seemed to be sleeping so comfortably. When I went back, he was dead.” Then she added thoughtfully, “Except now his hand was on the empty chair at the side of the bed. Isn’t that strange?”
The minister said, “No, it’s not strange. I understand.”
A Saint’s Prayer
Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give me an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give me an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. –Thomas Aquinas
Prayer Is Vital
It seems to me that it is of more than just passing interest that virtually every month the lectionary readings include some important passages on prayer. You’d almost get the idea that prayer was vital to the Christian’s life.
I was never deeply interested in any object, I never prayed sincerely and earnestly for anything, but it came at some time. No matter how distant the day, somehow, in some shape, probably the last I should have advised, it came. –Adoniram Judson
I have lived to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered. –Jean Ingelow
Priorities
I’d rather be able to pray than be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught His disciples how to preach, but only how to pray. –D. L. Moody
Prayer Reminder
George Reindrop, in his book No Common Task, tells how a nurse once taught a man to pray and in doing so changed his whole life from being a dull, disgruntled, and dispirited person into a man of joy. Much of the nurse’s work was done with her hands, and she used her hands as a scheme of prayer. Each finger stood for someone. Her thumb was the nearest to her, and it reminded her to pray for those who were closest to her. The second finger was used for pointing and it stood for all her teachers in school and in the hospital. The third finger was the tallest and it stood for the leaders in every sphere of life. The fourth finger was the weakest, as every pianist knows, and it stood for those who were in trouble and pain. The little finger was the smallest and the least important and to the nurse it stood for herself.
A Method of Praying
Be simple and direct in your secret prayer. The grace of simplicity is not to be despised in public prayer; but when we call on God in secret, any formality or elaborateness in our petition is an offense.
Pray audibly. You need not lift your voice to be heard in the street, but it is vastly better to pray not merely in your thoughts but also with words. The utterance of our wants helps to define them.
Be honest in your secret prayer. Do not express any want that you do not feel. Do not confess any fault that you do not mean to forsake. Do not keep anything back. Remember that it is He that searcheth the heart to whom you are speaking.
Pray earnestly. The words need not be loud, but the desire should be intense. “The fervent, energetic prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” No listless, drowsy petitioning will serve.
Do not mock God in your prayers. Do not beg Him to come to you. You know that He is never far from any soul that seeks Him. That prayer is answered before you utter it. Do not ask God to do for you that which He has expressly bidden you to do.
Pray always with special reference to the needs of the day and the hour—the warfare to be waged, the temptations to be resisted, the work to be done, the sorrow to be borne; put your life into your prayer; and let it be the most real and the most immediate business of your life. –Walter Rauschenbusch
Higher Ground
Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Powerful Positions for Prayer
Three ministers were talking about prayer in general and the appropriate and effective positions for prayer. As they were talking, a telephone repairman was working on the phone system in the background. One minister shared that he felt the key was in the hands. He always held his hands together and pointed them upward as a form of symbolic worship. The second suggested that real prayer was conducted on your knees. The third suggested that they both had it wrong—the only position worth its salt was to pray while stretched out flat on your face.
By this time the phone man couldn’t stay out of the conversation any longer. He interjected: “I found that the most powerful prayer I ever made was while I was dangling upside down by my heels from a power pole suspended forty feet above the ground.”
Answered Prayer—with Cattle
Shortly after Dallas Theological Seminary was founded in 1924, it almost came to the point of bankruptcy. All the creditors were going to foreclose at noon on a particular day. That morning they met in the president’s office with Dr. Chafer for prayer that God would provide. In that prayer meeting was a man by the name of Harry Ironside. When it was his turn to pray, he prayed in his characteristic manner: “Lord, we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are Thine. Please sell some of them and send us the money.”
While they were praying, a tall Texan with boots on and an open collar stepped up to the business office and said, “I just sold two carloads of cattle in Ft. Worth. I’ve been trying to make a business deal but it fell through, and I feel compelled to give the money to the seminary. I don’t know if you need it or not, but here’s the check!”
A little secretary took the check and, knowing how critical things were financially, went to the door of the prayer meeting and timidly tapped. When she finally got a response, Dr. Chafer took the check out of her hand. It was exactly the amount of the debt! When he looked at the name, he recognized the cattleman in Ft. Worth, and turning to Dr. Ironside said, “Harry, God sold the cattle!”
Prayer in Congress
When Edward Everett Hale was chaplain of the US Senate, someone asked him, “Do you pray for the senators, Dr. Hale?” He replied, “No, I look at the senators and pray for the country.”
Assume the Safest Position
George Adam Smith tells us that he was once climbing the Weisshorn above the Zermatt Valley in Switzerland with two guides on a stormy day. They had made the assent on the sheltered sided. Reaching the top, and exhilarated by the thought of the view before him, Smith sprang to the top of a peak—and was almost blown away by the gale. The guide caught hold of him and pulled him down, saying, “On your knees, sir! You are safe here only on your knees.” –J.W. Roberts
Preparation for Prayer
I have a friend who took his little boy fishing with him one day. They put out the line and then went up to the cabin. After an hour, they went back down to the river to see if they had caught anything.
Sure enough, there were several fish on the line. The boy said, “I knew there would be, Daddy.”
The father asked, “How did you know?”
He replied, “Because I prayed about it.”
So they baited the hooks again and put out the line and went back to the cabin for supper.
Afterward, they went back to the river; again, there were fish on the line. The boy said, “I knew it.”
The father said, “How?”
“I prayed again.”
So they put the line back into the river and went to the cabin. Before bedtime, they went down again. This time there were no fish.
The child said, “I knew there wouldn’t be,” and the father asked, “How did you know?”
The boy said, “Because I didn’t pray this time.”
The father asked, “And why didn’t you pray?”
The boy said, “Because I remembered that we forgot to bait the hooks.” –Robert Goodrich
Even the Animals
Once upon a time, there was a man who went hunting. He was hunting bears. As he trudged through the forest looking for bears, he came upon a large and steep hill. He climbed the hill, and just as he was pulling himself up over the last outcropping of rocks, a huge bear met him nose to nose. The bear roared fiercely. The man was so scared that he lost his balance and fell down the hill with the bear not far behind. On the trip down the hill, the man lost his gun. When he finally stopped tumbling, he found that he had a broken leg. Escape was impossible and so the man, who had never been particularly religious (in fact he was hunting on Sunday morning), prayed: “God, if You will make this bear a Christian, I will be happy with whatever lot You give me for the rest of my life.” The bear was no more than three feet away from the man, when it stopped dead in its tracks, looked up to the heavens quizzically, and then fell to its knees and prayed in a loud voice: “Lord, bless this food of which I am about to partake. Amen.”
Prayer Too Available?
Our failure to think of prayer as a privilege may be partly due to the fact that we can pray any time. The door to prayer is open so continuously that we fail to avail ourselves of an opportunity which is always there. –Harry Emerson Fosdick
Unceasing Prayer
You’ve heard someone say, “I don’t know what to pray about.” Or, people will get a prayer list and pray for missionaries because they don’t know what else to do. A lady said to me not too long ago, “I can’t pray for more than two minutes at a time. What can I do?” When people say that to me, I reply, “What have you been thinking or worrying about this last week? Pray about that.” Convert your thoughts into prayer. Prayer is not only thinking about new things, but prayer is thinking in dialogue. It is a move from self-centered monologue to a conversation with God.
Your Best Prayer
Listen, my friend! Your helplessness is your best prayer. It call from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness. He hears today as He heard the helpless and wordless prayer of the man sick with the palsy.
The Proper Focus of Prayer
There is a shrine in the French Pyrenees where people come to pray for healing. A war veteran who had lost a leg, appeared at the shrine sometime after World War II. As he hobbled his way along the street to the shrine, someone said, “Look at that silly man! Does he think God is going to give him back his leg?
The young man overheard the remark and turned toward the speakers and said: “Of course I do not expect God to give me back my leg. I am going to pray to God to help me live without it!”
The Position for Troubles
If all your troubles are deep-seated and longstanding, try kneeling.
Gladstone and Prayer
Prayer is one of those topics that gathers so many marvelous stories to illustrate its many facets. In particular, I like the story that William Gladstone told that illustrates prayer coupled with a sort of persistent (if also perverse) action. It seems Gladstone knew of a little girl in his neighborhood who believed strongly in the efficacy of prayer. Her current concern was a trap that her brother had made to catch birds. Being a bird lover herself, she prayed that God would frustrate her brother’s designs and he would be unsuccessful in his plan. She had shared this resolution with Gladstone and told him how hard she was praying.
Essence of Prayer
One day, upon encountering her, Gladstone observed a particular radiance to her countenance. He said to her, “Julia, you look so pleased. Are you still confident your prayers will be answered?” Julia smiled a knowing smile and retorted, “I know for sure that my prayers will be answered. Yesterday I kicked my brother’s trap to pieces.”
It is no use to ask God with factitious earnestness for A when our whole mind is in reality filled with B. We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us. –C.S.Lewis
Hanging on to God
Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance; it is laying hold of His highest willingness. –Archbishop Trench
The Struggle of Prayer
One day a boy was watching a holy man praying on the backs of a river in India. When the holy man completed his prayer, the boy went over and asked him, “Will you teach me to pray?” The holy man studied the boy’s face carefully. Then he gripped the boy’s head in his hands and plunged it forcefully into the water! The boy struggled frantically, trying to free himself in order to breathe. Finally, the holy man released his hold. When the boy was able to get his breath, he gasped, “What did you do that for?” The holy man said: “I just gave you your first lesson.” “What do you mean?” asked the astonished boy. “Well,” said the holy man, “when you long to pray as much as you longed to breathe when your head was underwater—only then will I be able to teach you to pray.” –Mark Link
To Pray Is Human
A farmer was paid a visit by one of his city relatives. Before dinner the farmer bowed his head and said grace. His sophisticated relative jeered: “This is old-fashioned; nobody with an education prays at the table anymore.”
The farmer admitted that the practice was old and even allowed that there were some on his farm who did not pray before their meals. Justified, the relative remarked: “So enlightenment is finally reaching the farm. Who are those wise ones?”
The farmer replied, “My pigs.”
Turning to Heaven
A prayer, in its simplest definition, is merely a wish turned heavenward. –Phillips Brooks
Sincere Prayer
O God, if in the day of battle I forget Thee, do not Thou forget me. –William King
What Are We Looking For?
There was a five-year-old attending a formal wedding some years ago. The girl was sitting with her grandmother. She had been in Sunday school but had never attended a formal church service. During the wedding, the minister said: “Let us pray.” Each person bowed his head in prayer. The little girl looked around and saw all the heads bowed and eyes turned toward the floor and she cried: “Grandmother, what are they all looking for?”
What are we all looking for when we pray?
Uses and Misuses
The great baseball catcher Yogi Berra was involved in a ball game in which the score was tied, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The batter from the opposing team stepped up to the batting box and made the sign of the cross on home plate with his bat. Berra was Catholic, too, but he wiped off the plate with his glove and said to the pious batter, “Why don’t we let God just watch this game?” That is good theology when applied to the outcome of a baseball game. It’s terrible when applied to the way we live out lives and carry out the work of God. Worse than that, it is fatal. God is merely in attendance at the game, our prayers are merely ceremonial functions; tips of the hats, verbal recognition over the loudspeaker between innings, or requests to throw out the game ball. Prayer is always getting nudged aside, neglected or perfunctorily performed. Many of us feed we just have too much to do to have time to pray.
Divine Intercession
An elderly gentleman passed his granddaughter’s room one night and overheard her repeating the alphabet in an oddly reverent way. He asked her, “What on earth are you up to?” She explained, “I’m saying my prayers, but I can’t think of exactly the right words tonight, so I’m just saying all the letters. God will put them together for me, because He knows what I’m thinking.”
Mighty Prayer
One might estimate the weight of the world, tell the size of the celestial city, count the stars of heaven, measure the speed of lightning, and tell the time of the rising and the setting of the sun—but you cannot estimate prayer-power. Prayer is as vast as God because He is behind it. Prayer is as mighty as God because He had committed Himself to answer it. –Leonard Ravenhill
The Great Key
Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer.
Too Much to Do
We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity but we accomplish little; many services but few conversions; much machinery but few results. –R.A. Torrey
Luther and Myconius
It was a sense of being in the center of God’s will that gave Luther his great boldness in prayer. In 1540 Luther’s great friend and assistant, Frederick Myconius, became sick and was expected to die within a short time. On his bed he wrote a loving farewell note to Luther with a trembling hand. Luther received the letter and instantly sent back a reply: “I command thee in the name of God to live because I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church. The Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God.” The words are almost shocking to us, as we live in a more sensitive and cautious day, but they were certainly from God. For although Myconius had already lost the ability to speak when Luther’s letter came, in a short time he revived. He recovered completely, and he lived six more years to survive Luther himself by two months. –James Montgomery Boice
The White Birds
There was once a man who had a waking dream. He dreamed he was in a spacious church. He had wandered in to pray, and after his prayers were finished, he knelt on, his eyes open, gazing around at the beauty of the ancient building, and resting in the silence. Here and there in the great building were quiet kneeling figures across the dim darkness of the nave and aisles. Shafts of sunlight streamed into the church from upper windows. In the distance a side door was open, letting in scents of summer air, fragrant with the smell of hay and flowers, and the sight of trees waving in the breeze, and beyond, a line of blue hills, dim and distant as an enchanted land.
Presently the man withdrew his eyes from the pleasant outdoor world and looked again at the church. Suddenly, close to the spot where he was kneeling, there was a gentle whir of wings and he saw a little white bird fluttering about in the dim nave; it flew uncertainly hither and thither, and once or twice he thought it would fall to the ground. But gradually it gathered strength, rose toward the roof, and finally, with a purposeful sweep of its wings, sped upward, and out through one of the open windows into the sunshine.
The stranger looked down again at the kneeling men and women, scattered singly throughout the building; and now he saw, what he had not noticed before, that by the side of each worshiper there hovered, close to the stone floor, a little white bird. Just then he saw another bird rise from the floor and try to reach the roof. But it, too, was in difficulties; it flew around and around in circles, occasionally beating its wings in a futile way against the great lower windows, rich with stained glass. Finally it sank down exhausted, and lay still. A little later another bird rose from the ground, with a swift and easy flight; for a moment it seemed that it would reach the open window and the open air beyond; but suddenly, it whirled around, fell helplessly over and over, and came to the ground with a thud, as if it had been shot. The man rose from his knees and went over to see what had happened; the little bird was dead.
He went back to his place and sat down on one of the chairs; then he noticed an ugly bird, its white feathers dirty and bedraggled, rise from the ground. At first this bird labored heavily, but it soon gathered speed, for it was strong, and it soared up and out into the sunlit world beyond the walls of the great church. More and more the man wondered what all this might mean. He looked again at the persons at prayer near him, and he noticed one, kneeling very reverently, by whose side lay a very beautiful bird, snowy white and perfectly formed. But when he looked at it more closely, he saw that its eyes were glazed, its wings stiff; it was a lifeless shell. “What a pity!” he murmured under his breath. At that moment, a gentle whir of wings a few feet away attracted his attention; another bird was rising from the ground, steadily and quietly, at first with some appearance of effort, but more and more easily and lightly as it gathered strength; this bird flew straight up, past the carved angels which seemed to be crying “Hallelujah!” to one another across the dim spaces of the church, and out through the open window into the blue sky, where it was soon lost to sight.
Pondering on what he had seen, the man looked around again, and this time he saw standing close to him, an angel, tall and strong, with a face of great kindness, wisdom, and compassion. It all seemed perfectly natural (as things do in dreams), and the man whispered to him: “Can you explain to me about these white birds?”
“Yes,” said the angel, in a low voice, as he seated himself beside him, “for I am the guardian of this place of prayer. These white birds are the outward sign of the prayers of the people who come here to pray. The first bird, which found it difficult to rise, but then succeeded, is the prayer of a woman who has come here straight from a very busy life; she has very little time to herself; in fact, she usually comes here in the midst of her shopping. She has a great many duties and claims, and her mind was full of distractions when she first knelt down and tried to pray. But she persevered, for her heart is right with God, and He helped her; her prayer was real and her will good, so her prayer reached God.”
“And what about the bird that flew around in circles?” asked the man.
The angel smiled slightly, with a tinge of faint amusement. “That,” he said slowly, “is the prayer of a man who thinks of no one by himself; even in his prayers he only asks for ‘things’–success in his business and things like that; he tries to use God for his own ends. People think he is a very religious man, but his prayer does not reach God at all.”
“But why did that other bird fall to the ground as if it had been shot?”
The angel looked sad as he replied: “That man began his prayer well enough; but suddenly he remembered a grudge against someone he knew; he forgot his prayer and brooded in bitter resentment, and his bitterness killed his prayer. And the ugly bird,” he went on after a moment’s silence, “is the prayer of a man who hasn’t much idea of reverence; his prayer is bold, almost presumptuous, some people might call it; but God knows his heart, and He sees that his faith is real; he does really believe God, so his prayer reaches Him.”
“And the beautiful lifeless bird that never stirred from the ground at all?” asked the man.
“That,” said the angel, “is a beautifully composed prayer; the language is perfect, the thought is doctrinally correct; the man offered it with the greatest solemnity and outward reverence. But he never meant a word of it; even as he said the words, his thoughts were on his own affairs; so his prayer could not reach God.”
“And what about the last bird that flew upstairs so easily?”
The angel smiled. “I think you know,” he said gently. “That is the prayer of a woman whose whole heart and will is set upon God. Her prayer went straight to God.” –Olive Wyon, The School of Prayer
Like a Fort
Deep in the Arabian desert is a small fortress. It stands silently on the vast expanse of the ageless desert. Thomas Edward Lawrence, known as “Lawrence of Arabia,” often used it. Though unpretentious, it was most sufficient. Its primary commendation was its security. When under attack, often by superior forces, Lawrence could retreat there. Then the resources of the fortress became his. The food and water stored there were life supporting. The strength of the fortification became the strength of its occupants. When Lawrence defended it, it defended him. As one relying on the garrison, he was the object of its protection. Its strength was his. Old desert dwellers living around there have told me that Sir Lawrence felt confident and secure within its walls. He had on occasion to depend on the fort; it provided his need. He learned to trust it; his experience proved its worth. Like that fort, “The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust Him.” Through prayer, we enter God’s fortress.
The Lord’s Will
An overweight business associate of mine decided it was time to shed some excess pounds. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he arrived at work carrying a gigantic coffee cake. We all scolded him, but his smile remained cherubic. “This is a very special coffee cake,” he explained. “I accidently drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window were a host of goodies. I felt this was no accident, so I prayed, ‘Lord, if You want me to have one of these delicious coffee cakes, let me have a parking place directly in front of the bakery.’ And sure enough,” he continued, “the eighth time around the block, there it was!”
Children’s Candid Responses
Our kindergarten class went to the fire station for a tour and some instruction in fire safety. The firemen was explaining what to do in case of a fire. He said, “First, go to the door and feel the door to see if it’s hot.” Then he said, “Fall to your knees. Does anyone know why you ought to fall to your knees?” One of the little tykes said, “Sure, to start praying to ask God to get us out of this mess!”
The Power That Takes Us Up
One day in Lucerne, Switzerland, a man went up to the summit of Mount Pilatus in a cable car operated by hydraulic power. As he ascended, he marveled at the miracles of modern engineering. More than halfway up, his attention was caught by a waterfall. The water poured down the mountainside. If the railway symbolized modern science, then that waterfall was the symbol of primitive nature. “What a contrast!” he thought. Then it suddenly occurred to him that the waterfall was not a contrast but a complement. It was the source of that hydraulic power. It was the force of that water that was driving him up.
So it is with prayer. The power that takes us up to God is the same power that comes from God. –Kenneth D. Harvey
Getting What You Want
“Be careful,” runs the old saying, “or you may get what you want.”
One who would agree is a man who lived in a squalid tenement on a side street in East Boston. He was a tailor and worked long hours each day to eke out a meager existence. He allowed himself but one luxury: a ticket each year to the Irish Sweepstakes. And each year he would pray fervently that this would be the winning ticket that would bring him his fortune.
For fourteen years his life continued in the same impoverished vein, until one day there came a loud knocking on his door. Two well-dressed gentlemen entered his shop and informed him that he had just won the sweepstakes. The grand prize was $1 million!
The little tailor could hardly believe his ears. He was rich! No longer would h have to slave away making pant cuffs, hemming dresses. Now he could really live!
He locked his shop and threw the key into the Charles River. He bought himself a wardrobe fit for a king, a new Rolls Royce, a suite of rooms at the Ritz, and soon was supporting a string of attractive women.
Night after night he partied until dawn, spending his money as if each day was his last. Of course the inevitable happened. One day the money was gone. Furthermore, he had nearly wrecked his health.
Disillusioned, ridden with fever and exhausted, he returned to his little shop and set up business once more. And from force of habit, once again each year set aside from his meager savings the price of a sweepstakes ticket.
Two years later, there came a second knock at his door. The same two gentlemen stood there once again, “This is the most incredible thing in the history of the sweepstakes,” exclaimed one. “You have won again!”
The little tailor staggered to his feet with a groan that could be heard for miles. “Oh, no,” he protested, “do you mean I have to go through all that again?”
Luther on the Priority of Prayer
It is well to let prayer be the first employment in the early morning and the last in the evening. Avoid diligently those false and deceptive thoughts which say, “I will pray an hour hence; I must first perform this or that.” For with such thoughts a man quits prayer for business, which lays hold of and entangles him so that he come not to pray the whole day long. –Martin Luther
Children, Teach Us to Pray
I was sitting in with my wife one Wednesday evening as she was teaching a five-year-old’s Bible class. It came time to have some animal crackers, and she asked one of the little boys, Joey, to lead the prayer for the crackers. Of course, it is always so precious to see children pray, and as Joey bowed his head along with the other children, he began a most thorough sweet prayer: “Dear God, thank You for my mommy, my daddy, my brother, my sister, great-grandfather, and thank You for my teacher. And God, thank You for the animal crackers.” Joey stopped right there in the middle of the prayer. Everyone began to squirm and get restless. We waited and waited and finally my wife quietly asked Joey if there was anything wrong. Joey slowly raised his head and in a very low whisper asked, “Are we going to have anything to drink?” My wife said no, and immediately he bowed his head and said, “Amen.”
What a lesson in prayer this is for those adults who ritualistically roll through leading prayers, not really conscious of the need of those they are praying for.
Prayer and Work
Men do not really pray until they are willing to work. Former Governor William E. Russell of Massachusetts had his boat overturn about a mile from shore. He was not a good swimmer, and those on shore despaired of his life. When he reached safety, they exclaimed, “Mr. Russell, how on earth did you ever make it?” He replied, “I don’t know. All I know is that I prayed to God, and kept my arms and legs in stroke.” Prayer changes people to change things. –Hershell Hobbs
Nontaxable
I don’t know of a single foreign product that enters this country untaxed except the answer to prayer. –Mark Twain
God’s View of Prayer
God warms His hands at man’s heart when he prays. –John Masefield
Wrestling with God
Whoever wrestles with God in prayer puts his whole life at stake.–Jacques Ellul
Improvement of the Praying Man
Whoever riseth from prayer a better man, his prayer is answered. –George Meredith
Prayer of a Diligent Saint
Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest: to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do Thy will. –Ignatius of Loyola