Inspiration for Prayer (Quotes)

vigil [Latin (= watchful, alert), hypoth. IE wegeli- (lively, alert); akin to Eng. watch

Quotes about prayer:

• Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask. Billy Graham
• Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees. Victor Hugo
• Think of prayer less as an activity for God and more as an awareness of God. Seek to live in uninterrupted awareness. Acknowledge His presence everywhere you go. Max Lucado, Today's Christian, November/December 2004
• Even if you did nothing in your meditation but bring your heart back, and place it again in our Lord's presence, though it went away again every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed. Francis deSales
• Prayer is the breath of your life which gives you the freedom to go and stay where you wish and to find the many signs which point out the way to a new land. Henri Nouwen, *With Open Hands*
• Prayer puts us on the potter's wheel, reshaping us to be God's vessels. As we beg that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we present ourselves to God to do it. from *Churches That Make A Difference*, Olson / Unruh / Sider (Baker, 2002), p. 142
• You may pray for an hour and still not pray. You may meet God for a moment and then be in touch with Him all day. Fredrik Wisloff, *I Believe In the Holy Spirit* (Augsburg)
• But you have to pray. You have to listen to the voice who calls you the beloved, because otherwise you will run around begging for affirmation, for praise, for success. And then you're not free. Henri J. M. Nouwen
• Without prayer we become deaf to the voice of divine love and become confused by the many competing voices asking for our attention When we try to become very still, we often find ourselves so overwhelmed by our noisy inner voices that we can hardly wait to get busy and distracted again. Our inner life often looks like a banana tree full of jumping monkeys! But when we decide not to run away and stay focused, the monkeys may gradually go away because of lack of attention, and the soft gentle voice calling us may gradually make itself heard. Henri J. M. Nouwen