A good man is willing to know the worst of himself, and particularly under affliction, desires to be told wherefore God contends with him and what God designs in correcting him.
Matthew HenryRead
Prayer is the breath of the new man, drawing in the air of mercy in petitions, and returning it in praises; it proves and maintains the spiritual life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Prayer is essential for spiritual growth, connecting the individual with divine mercy and fostering a life of praise.
In this quote, Matthew Henry emphasizes the fundamental role of prayer in the life of a believer. He likens prayer to breathing, suggesting that just as physical breath sustains life, prayer sustains spiritual existence. By engaging in prayer, individuals draw in mercy through their requests and reciprocate with gratitude through praises, thus nurturing their spiritual well-being and relationship with the divine.
Themes
PrayerSpiritualMercyPraiseLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one might say, 'As Matthew Henry eloquently puts it, prayer is the breath of the new man.'
More from Matthew Henry
All quotes →There is a burden of care in getting riches; fear in keeping them; temptation in using them; guilt in abusing them; sorrow in losing them; and a burden of account at last to be given concerning them.
Matthew HenryRead
To wait on God is to live a life of desire toward Him, delight in Him, dependence on Him, and devotedness to Him.
Matthew HenryRead
Scriptures were written, not to satisfy our curiosity and make us astronomers, but to lead us to God, and make us saints.
Matthew HenryRead
What God requires of us he himself works in us, or it is not done. He that commands faith, holiness, and love, creates them by the power of his grace going along with his word, that he may have all the praise.
Matthew HenryRead
No attribute of God is more dreadful to sinners than His holiness.
Matthew HenryRead
Similar quotes
Prayer is speaking to God - but sometimes He uses our times of prayerful silence to speak to us in return.
Billy GrahamRead
There is no specialized art of prayer. All of life must be a training to pray. We pray the way we live.
Abraham Joshua HeschelRead
In using all means, seek God alone. In and through every outward thing, look only to the power of His Spirit, and the merits of His Son. Beware you do not get stuck in the work itself; if you do, it is all lost labor. Nothing short of God can satisfy your soul. Therefore, fix on Him in all, through all, and above all...Remember also to use all means as means-as ordained, not for their own sake.
John WesleyRead
One of the values of centering prayer is that you are not thinking about God during the time of centering prayer so you are giving God a chance to manifest. In centering prayer there are moments of peace that give the psyche a chance to realize that God may not be so bad after all. God has a chance to be himself for a change.
Thomas KeatingRead
All I did was pray to God, every day. In prison camp, the main prayer was, 'Get me home alive, God, and I'll seek you and serve you.' I came home, got wrapped up in the celebration, and forgot about the hundreds of promises I'd made to God.
Louis ZamperiniRead
Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods and I'd look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just feel a prayer.
Lucy Maud MontgomeryRead