Though sages may pour out their wisdom's treasure, there is no sterner moralist than pleasure.
Lord ByronRead
The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says 'Amen' and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening to God is far more important than giving Him our ideas.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of listening to God rather than just speaking to Him in prayer.
Frank Laubach highlights a common pitfall in prayer: many people speak their thoughts and requests to God but fail to take the time to listen for His responses. The quote suggests that genuine communication with the divine requires patience and the willingness to hear what God might convey rather than solely focusing on our own ideas.
In practice
In a sermon about the importance of prayer, one could use this quote to encourage congregants to take time to listen.
Though sages may pour out their wisdom's treasure, there is no sterner moralist than pleasure.
This is the greatest gift God can give you: to understand what happened in your life. To have it explained. It is the peace you have been searching for.
Do not worry about not holding high position; worry rather about playing your proper role. Worry not that no one knows of you; seek to be worth knowing.
Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. Before you retire, save. Before you die, give.
Produce what you consume; draw from the native element the necessaries of life. Permit no vitiated taste to lead you into the indulgence of expensive luxuries, which can only be obtained by involving yourselves in debt.
If God treats you well by teaching you a disastrous lesson, you never forget it.
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