A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery.
C. S. LewisRead
What seem our worst prayers may really be, in God's eyes, our best. Those, I mean, which are least supported by devotional feeling. For these may come from a deeper level than feeling. God sometimes seems to speak to us most intimately when he catches us, as it were, off our guard.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that our most sincere prayers may come from moments of vulnerability, rather than conventional devotion.
C. S. Lewis expresses the idea that the prayers we might deem insignificant or devoid of deep feeling could, in fact, hold greater significance in the eyes of God. He implies that authentic communication with the divine can occur when we are least prepared or when our emotional defenses are down, suggesting that raw honesty can foster a deeper spiritual connection.
Themes
PrayerFaithDevotionSincerityVulnerability
In practice
Example use cases
During a moment of distress, I recalled C. S. Lewis's words to remind myself that raw honesty in prayer is what matters most.
More from C. S. Lewis
All quotes →I enjoyed my breakfast this morning, and I think that was a good thing and do not think it was condemned by God. But I do not think myself a good man for enjoying it.
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Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
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Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
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I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
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The instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man's self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred
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