All Saint's Day and Quotes on Prayer

My Little Explorer
(Will she be a jungle missionary someday?)

Happy All Saints Day, my friends!

I ate leftovers for breakfast -- leftover Reese's peanut butter cups, M & M's, Kit-Kats, Snickers...  Yes, we are recovering from a Halloween-induced sugar rush at our house this morning.   I took my three middle school / high school kids to a youth group party at the church office last night, and after trick-or-treating in that neighborhood, I sat at the door with my little explorer, who gleefully handed out candy to folks coming by the office.  (It's in a planned community with live-work units, so the place was packed!)

And now it's All Saints Day, that oft forgotten holiday.  I'm no Catholic, but I still like to pause and reflect about the saints -- believers in Jesus -- who have gone before me. This morning, I thought a fitting tribute might be a collection of quotes on prayer and compassion by many wise and good saints from yesteryear.  This is good for me, because prayer hasn't exactly been  my strong suit lately and I'm trying to get back into it.  I especially need to pray for my own children!  Maybe it would help to read "Teaching Our Children to Walk With God" by Shiela Catanzarite.

Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com


Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking. The way to trouble God is not to come at all. - D. L. Moody

Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence. - W. S. Bowden

He who has no vision of ETERNITY will never get a true hold of TIME. - T. Carlyle

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? - Corrie ten Boom

Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him. –James Hudson Taylor

You must GO forward on your knees. - James Hudson Taylor
Compassion costs. It is easy enough to argue, criticize and condemn, but redemption is costly, and comfort draws from the deep. Brains can argue, but it takes heart to comfort. –Samuel Chadwick 

There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him. - William Law

If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one GO there UNWARNED and UNPRAYED for. - Charles Spurgeon

It is not the bee's touching on the flowers that gathers the honey, but her abiding for a time upon them, and drawing out the sweet. It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates most on divine truth, that will prove the choicest, strongest Christian. - Joseph Hall 

The Christian on his knees sees more than the philosopher on tiptoe. - D. L. Moody

Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. - E. M. Bounds

The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray. - Samuel Chadwick

And we ourselves are 'saved to save' - we are made to give - to let everything go if only we may have more to give. The pebble takes in all the rays of light that fall on it, but the diamond flashes them out again; every little facet is a means, not simply of drinking more in, but of giving more out. - Lillias Trotter

It is wonderful what God can do with a broken heart, if He gets all the pieces. –Samuel Chadwick

You shall find this to be God’s usual course: not to give his children the taste of his delights till they begin to sweat in seeking after them. - Richard Baxter

Lord grant that the FIRE of my heart may melt the lead in my feet. - Unknown

Work as if everything depended upon your work, and pray as if everything depended upon your prayer. - William Booth

When we get a glimpse of the worth of a soul, and begin to realize that we stand between lost men and Heaven or Hell, then we shall have real concern and the Lord will hear our prayers of intercession. - J. W. Mahood

How long will it take us to learn that our shortest route to the man next door is by way of God's throne? – A. T. Pierson

Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival – men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations. - C. H. Spurgeon

Some people become tired at the end of ten minutes or half an hour of prayer. What will they do when they have to spend Eternity in the presence of God? We must begin the habit here and become used to being with God. - Sadhu Sundar Singh

Prayer - secret, fervent, believing prayer - lies at the root of all personal godliness. -William Carey

The Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer. – John R. Mott

Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. God’s voice in response to mine is its most essential part. - Andrew Murray

Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. - William Cowper

Pray not for crutches but for wings. - Phillips Brooks

God never ceases to speak to us, but the noise of the world without and the tumult of our passions within bewilder us and prevent us from listening to him. - Fenelon

God will do nothing but in answer to prayer. - John Wesley

I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done. - Hudson Taylor

God never intended His Church to be a refrigerator in which to preserve perishable piety. He intended it to be an incubator in which to hatch out converts. - F. Lincicome

When we go to God by prayer, the devil knows we go to fetch strength against him, and therefore he opposeth us all he can. - Richard Sibbes

Pray often; for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan. - John Bunyan

Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer. - John Bunyan

Prayer is the midwife of mercy, that helps to bring it forth. - Matthew Henry

The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel.-Thomas Watson

Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; support the tottering knees. Have you any days of fasting and prayer? Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down. - John Wesley

Are you living for the things you are praying for? - Austin Phelps