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
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The greatness of prayer is nothing but an extension of the greatness and glory of God in our lives To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule - it is a failure to treat God as God. It is a sin against his glory
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The prayer of listening makes things simple but it also makes us vulnerable, and that is frightening. Listening makes us open to Christ, the Word of God, spoken in all things: in the material world, the Scriptures, the Church, and sacraments and, sometimes most threateningly, in our fellow human beings. To listen at prayer is to take the chance of hearing the voice of Christ in the poor, the weak, those whom we love and those whom we do not love.
Benedict GroeschelRead
In order to form a habit of conversing with GOD continually, and referring all we do to Him, we must at first apply to Him with some diligence: but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty.
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God's grace comes in all shapes, sizes, and circumstances as God continues to unfold something magnificent in me.
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There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.
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