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“If you're wondering what I'm doing here, at a prayer breakfast, well, so am I. I'm certainly not here as a man of the cloth, unless that cloth is leather. It's certainly not because I'm a rock star. Which leaves one possible explanation: I'm here because I've got a messianic complex. Yes, it's true. And for anyone who knows me, it's hardly a revelation.”
“Put up at the moment of greatest suffering a prayer, not for thy own escape, but for the enfranchisement of some being dear to thee, and the sovereign spirit will accept thy ransom.”
Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) first seen 1841 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Recipe to prevent the cold of January from utterly destroying life" (30 January 1841), quoted in Margaret Fuller Ossoli (1898) by Thomas Wentworth Higginson, p. 97
“I only know one prayer — "Give me the truth, Give me that colored whiteness, ancient youth, Complex and simple, seen in joy and ruth.Let me not by vain wishes bar my claim, Nor soothe my hunger by an empty name, Nor crucify the Son of man by hasty blame.But in the earth and fire, water and air, Live earnestly by turns without despair, Nor seek a home till home be every where!”
Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) said by 1850 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At times like this, I flashed back to a movie I'd seen as a boy, The Charge of the Light Brigade, about the massacre of a brigade of British lancers during the Crimean War. [...] They claimed to have done it for glory and honor, but how could slaughter be glorious? [...] I always prayed the same prayer: No heroes. Don't make them be heroes to get this job done.”
Danny Coulson (born 1941) first seen 1936 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The film mentioned is presumed to be the 1936 version as Coulson was born in 1941. For the historical incident, see The Charge of the Light Brigade.
“I felt the ruthfulness and senselessness of war so acutlely that I wrote the first three stanzas of which, are in effect a prayer.”
Richard Eberhart (1904–2005) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Poetry of War 1939-45 ed. Ian Hamilton, London 1965
“From beyond the door came the sound of people at prayer, led by the droning voices of the priests. Even the plane seemed to be praying. Una went to find a parachute before they reached Windermere.”
Michael Moorcock (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If was a refugee forced to flee my home the most important thing I would take with me would be my brother's Buddhist prayer beads. He passed away a year and a half ago aged 30. Even in the darkest days before he died he never once complained. His faith and practice kept him in a state of grace until the end. May I never complain.”
Gillian Anderson (born 1968) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) "What Would You Take? #1family" (June 30, 2013)
“Prayer should be interior, prayed with the mind and not with the lips, so as not to cause distraction with the mind wandering here and there. Let us bring Christ into our mind in an unforced manner by repeating very gently, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me’ Don’t think anything except the words, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me’. Nothing else. Nothing at all.”
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia (1906–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can surrender Without a prayer But never really pray Pray without surrender You can fight Without ever winning But never ever win Without a fight -- Resist (1996)”
Neil Peart (1952–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pray for those you send, shield them by prayer.”
James Hudson Taylor (1832–1905) said by 1905 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (A.J. Broomhall. Hudson Taylor and China’s Open Century, Book Six: Assault on the Nine. London: Hodder and Stoughton and Overseas Missionary Fellowship, 1988, 294).
“Pray but one prayer for me 'twixt thy closed lips, Think but one thought of me up in the stars.”
William Morris (1834–1896) said by 1896 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[On religion] I'm for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, benzedrine or a bottle of Jack Daniel's.”
Frank Sinatra (1915–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...what has become my frequent prayer since I have had to face death -"Thy holy will, O Lord, not mine be done!”
Robert Hughes (1938–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Attempting to define the sensationalism of the press, Malcolm Muggeridge came up with the slogan 'Give us this day our daily story.' A doomed effort, because all it did was remind the reader that the King James Version of the Lord's Prayer was better written than an article by Muggeridge.”
Clive James (1939–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Neither lemonade nor anything else can prevent the inroads of old age. At present, I am stoical under its advances, and hope I shall remain so. I have but one prayer at heart; and that is, to have my faculties so far preserved that I can be useful, in some way or other, to the last.”
Lydia Maria Child (1802–1880) first seen 1869 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Harriet Seward (1869)
“To love another is something like prayer and it can't be planned, you just fall into its arms because your belief undoes your disbelief.”
Anne Sexton (1928–1974) first seen 1974 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Admonitions to a Special Person" (1974) from Last Poems 11px|frameless QOTD 2007·11·09 Sound file
“It is commonly said that no man was ever converted by argument, but there is a single one which will make any Laodicean in England, let him be once love-sick, wear prayer-books and become a zealous Episcopalian – the argument that his sweetheart can be seen from his pew.”
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Prayer is not a pious decoration of life but the breath of human existence.”
Henri Nouwen (1932–1996) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Wounded Healer (1972)
“In the end, a life of prayer is a life with open hands where we are not ashamed of our weakness but realize that it is more perfect for us to be led by the Other than to try to hold everything in our own hands.”
Henri Nouwen (1932–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No morning or evening passes without my offering up a prayer for my people.”
Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Having soon discovered to be great, I must appear so, and therefore studiously avoided mixing in society, and wrapped myself in mystery, devoting my time to fasting and prayer. Fasting diet”
Nat Turner (1800–1831) said by 1831 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To give pleasure to a single heart by a single kind act is better than a thousand head-bowings in prayer.”
Saadi (1210–1292) said by 1292 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sara A. Hubbard (ed.) Catchwords of Cheer (Chicago: R. F. Seymour, 1900) n.p.
“Madame de Staël thought it was pride in mankind to endeavour to penetrate the secret of the universe; and speaking of the higher metaphysics she said: "I prefer the Lord's Prayer to it all.”
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël (1766–1817) said by 1817 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Albertine-Adrienne Necker de Saussure, Sketch of the Life, Character, and Writings of Baroness de Staël-Holstein (1820), p. 349; often misquoted as, "I desire no other evidence of the truth of Christianity tha…
“The potentiality is evident to me now! Then what holds them back? Lack of faith? Divine judgment? No. Those old excuses won’t suffice. They never did. For where is the logic in basing salvation on a creator’s capricious whim or craving for praise? Or on prayer-incantations that vary from culture to culture? That’s not consistent or scientific. It’s not how the rest of nature works.”
David Brin (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When she put him to bed, she would stay a long time making the Cross over him and murmuring a prayer; then she would go to bed and dream of that far-away misty future when Sasha would finish his studies and become a doctor or an engineer, would have a big house of his own with horses and a carriage, would get married and have children.”
Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) said by 1904 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As down in the sunless retreats of the ocean Sweet flowers are springing no mortal can see, So deep in my soul the still prayer of devotion, Unheard by the world, rises silent to Thee. As still to the star of its worship, though clouded, The needle points faithfully o'er the dim sea, So dark when I roam in this wintry world shrouded, The hope of my spirit turns trembling to Thee.”
Thomas Moore (1779–1852) said by 1852 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do I have to say the words? Do I have to tell the truth? Do I have to shout it out? Do I have to say a prayer? Must I prove to you how good we are together? Do I have to say the words?”
Bryan Adams (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lord, for the erring thought Not into evil wrought: Lord, for the wicked will Betrayed and baffled still: For the heart from itself kept, Our thanksgiving accept. For ignorant hopes that were Broken to our blind prayer: For pain, death, sorrow, sent Unto our chastisement: For all loss of seeming good, Quicken our gratitude.”
William Dean Howells (1837–1920) said by 1920 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The natives of British Columbia live largely upon the fish which abound in their seas and rivers. If the fish do not come in due season, and the Indians are hungry, A Nootka wizard will make an image of a swimming fish and put it into the water in the direction from which the fish generally appear. This ceremony, accompanied by a prayer to the fish to come, will cause them to arrive at once.”
James Frazer (1854–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With the advance of knowledge, therefore, prayer and sacrifice assume the leading place in religious ritual; and magic; which once ranked with them as a legitimate equal, is gradually relegated to the background and sinks to the level of a black art.”
James Frazer (1854–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Legree had had the slumbering moral elements in him roused by his encounters with Tom, — roused, only to be resisted by the determinate force of evil; but still there was a thrill and commotion of the dark, inner world, produced by every word, or prayer, or hymn, that reacted in superstitious dread.”
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896) said by 1896 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“First, prayer; then, atonement; in the third place, very much 'in the third place', action.”
Josemaría Escrivá (1902–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To the Buddhas considering parinirvarna I join my hands in prayer Do not abandon the beings in sorrow But remain and teach for countless ages.”
Shantideva (685–763) said by 763 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the prayer of faith there is a divine science; it is a science that everyone who would make his lifework a success must understand.”
Ellen G. White (1827–1915) first seen 1903 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Education (1903), Ch. 30, Faith and Prayer, p. 257
“Singing is as much an act of worship as is prayer.”
Ellen G. White (1827–1915) said by 1915 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have noticed that the Christianity of a certain class of respectable people begins when they open their prayer-books at eleven o'clock on Sunday morning, and ends when they shut them up again at one o'clock on Sunday afternoon. Nothing so astonishes and insults Christians of this sort as reminding them of their Christianity on a week-day.”
Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) first seen 1886 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Armadale - Vol. II [Collier, 1886] (p. 130)
“This aim is formulated with utmost brevity in the famous Gâyatrî Mantra which is daily recited by hundreds of thousands of people all over India. The Mantra prays for arousing, activating, animating and manifesting our mind and understanding. Several Upanishads begin with this prayer: "Make strong my limbs, my speech, my vitals, my eyes, my cars and other senses".”
Ram Swarup (1920–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Water were your limbs And the fire was your hair And then the moon caught your eye, and you rose through the air. Well if you've seen true light, then this is my prayer: Will you call me When you get there?”
Joanna Newsom (born 1982) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Prayer is a universal phenomenon in the soul-life of man. It is the soul's reaction to the terrors and joys, the uncertainties and dreams of life.”
Joseph H. Hertz (1872–1946) said by 1946 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Consider, for example, the opening declaration of every Islamic prayer: "Allah-o-Akbar". What does that mean? There can be no doubt that the second word of the declaration likens the character of Allah to a matrix which contains all and gives existence to the infinite, to space, to time, to the Universe, to all active and passive forces imaginable, to life and to the soul.”
Aga Khan III (1877–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is my prayer for all of us—"Lord, increase our faith." Increase our faith to bridge the chasms of uncertainty and doubt. . . . Grant us faith to look beyond the problems of the moment to the miracles of the future. . . . Give us faith to do what is right and let the consequence follow.”
Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lord, Increase Our Faith, Ensign, Nov. 1987, 52–53.
“On a prayer, In a song, I hear your voice, And it keeps me hanging on. Oh, raining down, against the wind, I'm reaching out, 'Till we reach the circle's end. When you come back to me again.”
Garth Brooks (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let despair be known as my ebb-tide; but let prayer have its springs, too, brimming, disarming him; discovering somewhere among his fissures deposits of mercy where trust may take root and grow.”
R. S. Thomas (1913–2000) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Tidal" in Mass for Hard Times (1992), p. 43
“The storm that hit the United States was the result of every mother or father's prayer, or an orphaned son, or a woman whose honour was taken away in Iraq or Afghanistan.”
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (1966–2006) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Hurricane Katrina. Referring to Hurricane Katrina The Irish Times (11th September 2005)
“Maybe baby I'll have you, Maybe baby you'll be true. Maybe baby I'll have you for me. (All for me)It's funny honey you don't care-a-are, You never listen to my prayer-a-yer, Maybe baby you will love me someday (someday).”
Buddy Holly (1936–1959) first seen 1957 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Maybe Baby, written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty (1957)
“I am in prayer. I am one hand, this Universe the other.”
Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have not only a Hindu prayer being offered in the Senate, we have a Muslim member of the House of Representatives now, Keith Ellison from Minnesota. Those are changes -- and they are not what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers. You know, the Lord can cause the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike.”
“Since I do miss your vaïce an’ feäce In praÿer at eventide, I’ll praÿ wi’ woone said vaïce vor greäce To goo where you do bide;”
William Barnes (1801–1886) first seen 1879 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Wife a-lost, from Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1879).
“Yes, I believe in prayer, as a mystery which can endow one with more power perhaps than any other spiritual mystery, yet a mystery that cannot be exposited to a point where it is not a mystery.”
Marianne Moore (1887–1972) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I Believe in Prayer - - How Prayer helps me The Dial Press 1955
“The meaning of the word "true" here is similar to the word Amen said after a blessing. It is an act of affirmation and ratification, reminding us that the Shema is less a prayer than a declaration of faith.”
Jonathan Sacks, Baron Sacks (1948–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source