Great Throughts Treasury

"Anything large enough for a wish to light upon, is large enough to hang a prayer upon. " - George William McDonald

"Some people think that prayer just means asking for things, and if they fail to receive exactly what they asked for, they think the whole thing is a fraud. " - Gerald Vann

"Feeling is the language that speaks to the Divine Matrix (the Universe). Feel as though your goal is accomplished and your prayer is already answered." - Gregg Braden

"Perhaps you have noticed that even in the slightest breeze you can hear the voice of the cottonwood tree; this we understand is its prayer to the Great Spirit, for not only men, but all things and all beings pray to Him continually in different ways." - Nicholas Black Elk, formally Heȟáka Sápa

"The doctrine of the material efficacy of prayer reduces the Creator to a cosmic bellhop of a not very bright or reliable kind." - Herbert J. Muller

"Prayer is. not in posture; it is not in a given form of phrases. Prayer is a. relationship between you and God." - Imelda Octavia Shanklin

"What is a merciful heart? It is a heart on fire for the whole of creation, for humanity, for the birds, for the animals, for demons, and for all that exists. By the recollection of them the eyes of a merciful person pour forth tears in abundance. By the strong and vehement mercy that grips such a person’s heart, and by such great compassion, the heart is humbled and one cannot bear to hear or to see any injury or slight sorrow in any in creation. For this reason, such a person offers up tearful prayer continually even for irrational beasts, for the enemies of the truth, and for those who harm her or him, that they be protected and receive mercy. " - Saint Isaac of Nineveh, also Isaac the Syrian, Isaac of Qatar and Isaac Syrus NULL

"There is no greater distance than that between a man in prayer and God." - Ivan Illich

"The one thing necessary is always to be found by the soul in the present moment. There is no need to choose between prayer and silence, privacy or conversation, reading or writing, reflection or the abandonment of thought, the frequentation or avoidance of spiritual people, abundance or famine, illness or health, life or death; the one thing necessary is what each moment produces by God’s design." - John-Pierre de Cassaude

"Heaven and God are best discerned through tears; scarcely perhaps are discerned at all without them. The constant association of prayer with the hour of bereavement and the scenes of death suffice to show this." - James Martineau

"In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart." - John Bunyan

"Our prayer must not be self-centered. It must arise not only because we feel our own need as a burden we must lay upon God, but also because we are so bound up in love for our fellow men that we feel their need as acutely as our own. To make intercession for men is the most powerful and practical way in which we can express our love for them." - John Calvin

"You should strive in your prayer for a pure conscience, a will that is wholly with God, and a mind truly set upon Him." - John Yepes “Saint John of the Cross”

"Whoever flees prayer flees all that is good." - John Yepes “Saint John of the Cross”

"If prayer were only the articulation of words, of nothing but psychological relevance and of no metaphysical resonance, nobody would in an hour of crisis waste his time by praying in self-delusion." - Abraham Joshua Heschel

"Piety cannot consist of specific acts only, such as prayer or ritual observances, but is bound up with all actions, concomitant with all doings, accompanying and shaping all life’s business. Man’s responsibility to God is the scaffold on which he stands as daily he goes on building life. His every deed, every incident of mind, takes place on this scaffold, so that unremittingly man is at work either building up or tearing down his life, his home, his hope of God." - Abraham Joshua Heschel

"We have lost sensitivity to truth and purity of heart in the wasteland of opportunism… Continuity, permanence, intimacy, authenticity, earnestness are its attributes. For the soul, home is where the prayer is." - Abraham Joshua Heschel

"Prayer should be an act of catharsis, of purgation of emotions, as well as a process of self-clarification, of examining priorities, of elucidating responsibility. Prayer not verified by conduct is an act of desecration and blasphemy. Do not take a word of prayer in vain. Our deeds must not be a refutation of our prayers." - Abraham Joshua Heschel

"Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods… Prayer does not come by default. It requires education, training, reflection, contemplation. It is not enough to join others; it is necessary to build a sanctuary within, brick by brick, instants of meditation, moments of devotion. This is particularly true in an age when overwhelming forces seem to conspire at destroying our ability to pray." - Abraham Joshua Heschel

"Prayer is not a need but an ontological necessity, an act that expresses the very essence of man. Prayer is for human beings, by virtue of our being human. He who has never prayed is not fully human. Ontology, not psychology or sociology, explains prayer." - Abraham Joshua Heschel

"The true source of prayer is not an emotion but an insight It is the insight into the mystery of reality, the sense of the ineffable, that enables us to pray." - Abraham Joshua Heschel

"To pray is to take notice of the wonder, to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments. Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living. It is all we can offer in return for the mystery by which we live... Prayer clarifies our hope and intentions. It helps us discover our true aspirations, the pangs we ignore, the longings we forget. It is an act of self-purification... It teaches us what to aspire to, implants in us ideals we ought to cherish... Prayer begins where expression ends... The soul can only intimate its persistent striving." - Abraham Joshua Heschel

"The Lord's Prayer may be committed to memory quickly, but it is slowly learnt by heart." - F. D. Maurice, fully John Frederick Denison "F.D." Maurice

"Scientific prayer is the harmonious interaction of the conscious and subconscious levels of mind scientifically directed towards a specific purpose." - Joseph Murphy

"The grace to be a beginner is always the best prayer for an artist." - Julia Cameron

"So our customary practice of prayer was brought to mind: how through our ignorance and inexperience in the ways of love we spend so much time on petition. I saw that it is indeed more worthy of God and more truly pleasing to him that through his goodness we should pray with full confidence, and by his grace cling to him with real understanding and unshakeable love, than that we should go on making as many petitions as our souls are capable of." - Julian of Norwich NULL

"Behold the complacent salesman retailing the Good and True. One can even buy a so-called Religion, which is really but common morality sanctified with flowers and music. Rob the Church of her accessories and what remains behind? Yet the trusts thrive marvelously, for the prices are absurdly cheap,--a prayer for a ticket to heaven, a diploma for an honorable citizenship.Hide yourself under a bushel quickly, for if your real usefulness were known to the world you would soon be knocked down to the highest bidder by the public auctioneer." -

"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth

"Prayer is a way of asking for something. It is the medium of miracles. But the only meaningful prayer is for forgiveness, because those who have been forgiven have everything. Once forgiveness has been accepted, prayer in the usual sense becomes utterly meaningless. The prayer for forgiveness is nothing more than a request that you may be able to recognize what you already have." - A Course In Miracles, aka ACIM

"Sooner mayest thou trust thy pocket to a pickpocket than give loyal friendship to the man who boasts of eyes to which the heart never mounts in dew! Only when man weeps he should be alone, not because tars are weak, but they should be secret. Tears are akin to prayer - Pharisees parade prayers, impostors parade tears." - Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, fully Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, Lord Lytton

"The prayer of the heart is not a single act or series of acts which the soul undertakes, but the essential state in which the soul lives. " - Madame Guyon, Jeanne Marie Bouvières de la Mothe Guyon

"Prayer is vastly superior to worry. With worry, we are helpless; with prayer, we are interceding. When I hear sad news, I try to say a prayer for the victims. When I am troubled, I will say a prayer that asks for relief for myself and for all those who suffer as I do. When I am concerned about my relatives or friends I say a short prayer to myself - "May they be happy and free of suffering."" - Mary Pipher, aka Mary Elizabeth Pipher or Mary Bray Pipher

"Audible prayer can never do the works of spiritual understanding, which regenerates; but silent prayer, watchfulness, and devout obedience enable us to follow Jesus example. Long prayers, superstition, and creeds clip the strong pinions of Love." - Mary Baker Eddy

"True prayer is not asking God for love; it is learning to love, and to include all mankind in one affection." - Mary Baker Eddy

"All good and beneficial prayer is… at bottom nothing else than an energy of aspiration towards the eternal not ourselves that makes for righteousness, of aspiration towards it, and of cooperation with it." - Matthew Arnold

"No amount of prayer or meditation can do what helping others can do." - Meher Baba, born Merwan Sheriar Irani

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice." - Meister Eckhart, formally Meister von Hochheim

"The most powerful prayer, one wellnigh omnipotent, and the worthiest work of all is the outcome of a quiet mind. The quieter it is the more powerful, the worthier, the deeper, the more telling and more perfect the prayer is. To the quiet mind all things are possible. What is a quiet mind? A quiet mind is one which nothing weighs on, nothing worries, which, free from ties and from all self-seeking, is wholly merged into the will of God and dead to its own." - Meister Eckhart, formally Meister von Hochheim

"These examples suggest what one needs to learn to control attention. In principle any skill or discipline one can master on one’s own will serve: meditation and prayer if one is so inclined; exercise, aerobics, martial arts for those who prefer concentrating on physical skills. Any specialization or expertise that one finds enjoyable and where one can improve one’s knowledge over time. The important thing, however, is the attitude toward these disciplines. If one prays in order to be holy, or exercises to develop strong pectoral muscles, or learns to be knowledgeable, then a great deal of the benefit is lost. The important thing is to enjoy the activity for its own sake, and to know that what matters is not the result, but the control one is acquiring over one’s attention." - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, native form is Csíkszentmihályi Mihály

"The form of prayer ought not to become a matter of dispute. Which side you turn your face is certainly not essential to the spirit of prayer. The Quran is clearly on thus point. "The east and west is God’s: therefore whichever way you turn, there is the face of God." - Mohamed Iqbal or Sir Muhammad Iqbal, aka Allama Iqbal

"The Lord doth not regard a prayer in which the heart doth not accompany the body." - Muhammad, also spelled Mohammad, Mohammed or Mahomet, full name Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib NULL

"Prayer is the very soul and essence of religion and therefore prayer must be the very core of the life of man, for no man can live without religion." - Mahatma Gandhi, fully Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, aka Bapu

"Supplication, worship, prayer are no superstition; they are acts more real than the acts of eating, drinking, sitting or walking. It is no exaggeration to say that they alone are real, all else is unreal." - Mahatma Gandhi, fully Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, aka Bapu

"In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart." - Mahatma Gandhi, fully Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, aka Bapu

"Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts." - Mother Teresa, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu NULL

"Focus the place of worshp in your qalb, your inner heart. First you have to put your intention on Him in your qalb, then bring that intention to your memory which should be the focal point of attention. That focus must slip through feeling and feeling should become awareness of it. Understand what prayer is through that awareness which must flow through your blood and body; they must be associated with the Zikr, and as awareness exists in the blood, intellect must also function there. Iman, faith, certitude and determination, should be at work within the pointedness of intellect, and that prayer must function on the pointedness of iman in the three worlds, awaal, the time of creation, dunya, this world, and akhirah, the hereafter, because everything exists within man. This prayer should radiate through the tissues, the nerves, the marrow, through intention; focus your needs, this Zikr should flow through tissues, nerves, veins, blood, the body. When it does, that is prayer, that is devotion. Establish this thought, establish this intention, the Zikr must function like the pulse of blood in your arteries." - Bawa Mahaiyadden, fully Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

"Anger (being hostile) is a quality which to some, is like a religion. How can we kill it? It can only be killed by a sharpened intellect (koorvaputhi). Anger is like an elephant, - heavy, burdensome, which obliterates everything on its path, and cannot be killed easily. A very sharp intellect is the only weapon with which you can kill it. In folklore, it is said that if you are able to kill it, you are likened to a 'dev muni' (a petty god in tamil folklore). To us, it means that one could realise the Truth (Haqq) which is Allah. Further we have arrogance, which is the "I" in me, and everything else that is associated with the "I". It is also said in Tamil folklore, that so long as the pride and arrogance remains as the "I" in me, they will slaughter me. That "I" consciousness will unerringly drag my mind down to abysmal depths of degradation. Like a mote in your eye which affects your vision, it blocks the power of the mind. Whilst the arrogance of the "I" infects the mind, and whilst the greed of "mine" envelops the mind, then you are under the fatal stranglehold. Then your eyes are dazzled by the visions portrayed, and you succumb to that stranglehold. So the constant intention and inward prayer should be - "Oh Allah, the Almighty Power, let the arrogance that is "I", and the greed that is called "mine" be cast asunder, that I shall see Thee in all thy Majesty". That is the priceless effulgent Thing. That is why we always say, annihilate the "I", because that is the cause of your disease of misery, (thoonbam). Your pride, your arrogance, your greed, your lust, your attachments, all have the "I", your base ego being the generator. The idea of "I" and "mine" permeates your entire being and taints your every thought and action, your conduct and behaviour. Therefore, if and when you come to possess the knowledge to cross this abyss of the "I" and "mine" then that knowledge you must have before you can pursue your religion, whatever it may be." - Bawa Mahaiyadden, fully Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

"Personal prayer before God, is greater than anything else. That is, a person should set aside at least an hour or more everyday to seclude himself from others and speak to God in his own language." - Nachman of Breslov, aka Reb Nachman Breslover or Bratslav, Nachman from Uman NULL

"When one sings the words of prayer and the song resonates with great clarity and purity, he enclothes the shechina (divine presence) with luminous clothing." - Nachman of Breslov, aka Reb Nachman Breslover or Bratslav, Nachman from Uman NULL

"When we clap our hands during prayer it awakens the 28 letters that the world was created with which parallel the 28 joints in the hands. Through this we have power to purify the air of the nations, to dispel the impure air and replace it with the pure air of the Land of Israel." - Nachman of Breslov, aka Reb Nachman Breslover or Bratslav, Nachman from Uman NULL