The earth has grown old with its burden of care, But at Christmas it always is young.
Phillips BrooksRead
A prayer in its simplest definition is merely a wish turned Godward.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Prayer is essentially a heartfelt wish directed towards God.
In this quote, Phillips Brooks simplifies the concept of prayer to its core essence, asserting that at its heart, prayer is about expressing one's deepest desires in a spiritual context. This perspective encourages people to understand prayer not as a formal ritual, but as a genuine communication of hopes and needs directed toward a higher power, thus bridging personal aspirations with divine will.
Themes
PrayerWishGodSpiritualityCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
Including this quote in a sermon to highlight the essence of prayer.
More from Phillips Brooks
All quotes βWe never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so. You must undertake something so great that you cannot accomplish it unaided.
Phillips BrooksRead
The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy, that he may be able to bear the burden.
Phillips BrooksRead
To believe in the God over us and around us and not in the God within us - that would be a powerless and fruitless faith.
Phillips BrooksRead
To say, 'well done' to any bit of good work is to take hold of the powers which have made the effort and strengthen them beyond our knowledge.
Phillips BrooksRead
Think of life as a voyage. The truest liver of the truest life is like a voyager who, as he sails, is not indifferent to all the beauty of the sea around him.
Phillips BrooksRead
Similar quotes
To pray is to dream in league with God, to envision His holy visions.
Abraham Joshua HeschelRead
Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don't say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now - draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God's grace through prayer.
Oswald ChambersRead
If we had strength and faith enough to trust ourselves entirely to God; and follow Him simply wherever He should lead us, we should have no need of any great effort of mind to reach perfection.
Francois FenelonRead
Prayer is no fitful, short-lived thing. It is no voice crying unheard and unheeded in the silence. It is a voice which goes into God's ear, and it lives as long as God's ear is open to holy pleas, as long as God's heart is alive to holy things.
Edward Mckendree BoundsRead
By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us - set us right with him, make us fit for him - we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand - out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
Paul The ApostleRead
If you cannot find time to pray, ask for forgiveness. Ask to be cleansed of the sin of having no time to pray ... _x000D_ It could be that Satan is pushing you into too much work so that you cannot take time to pray.
Corrie Ten BoomRead