Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life-gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life.
Oswald ChambersRead
The inattentive, slovenly way we drift into the presence of God is an indication that we are not bothering to think about Him. Whenever our Lord spoke of prayer, He said, "Ask." It is impossible to ask if you do not concentrate.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being careless in prayer signifies a lack of genuine engagement with God.
In this quote, Oswald Chambers emphasizes the importance of being attentive and focused when approaching God in prayer. He suggests that a casual or careless attitude reflects a lack of true contemplation and desire to connect with the divine. Prayer requires concentration, and genuine asking stems from a sincere effort to engage with God, rather than a mere routine gesture.
Themes
PrayerAttentionGodFocusSpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
In a church sermon about the importance of prayer.
More from Oswald Chambers
All quotes βNever make the blunder of trying to forecast the way God is going to answer your prayer.
Oswald ChambersRead
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God.
Oswald ChambersRead
When we preach the love of God there is a danger of forgetting that the Bible reveals not first the love of God but the intense, blazing holiness of God, with His love at the center of that holiness.
Oswald ChambersRead
It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we mistake panic for inspiration.
Oswald ChambersRead
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion.
Oswald ChambersRead
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Every moment of life is like a sacrament in which we can receive God. It is a channel through which God speaks to us, forms us, and directs us.
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For the power Thou hast given me to lay hold of things unseen: For the strong sense I have that this is not my home:For my restless heart which nothing finite can satisfy: I give Thee thanks, O God. For the invasion of my soul by Thy Holy Spirit: For all human love and goodness that speak to me of Thee: For the fullness of Thy glory outpoured in Jesus Christ: I give Thee thanks, O God.
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The prayer life does not consist of perpetual repetition of petitions. The prayer life consists of life that is always upward and onward and Godward
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I ought to pray before seeing any one. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, it is eleven or twelve o'clock before I begin secret prayer. I feel it is far better to begin with God-to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is near another.
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I was raised in the Baptist church... but I didn't really have a real committed experience with Christ until my father died.
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There is no specialized art of prayer. All of life must be a training to pray. We pray the way we live.
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