#aye

True prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitude of our words; for our Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him. The true prayer is that of the heart, and the heart prays only for what it desires. To pray, then is to desire -- but to desire what God would have us desire. He who asks what he does not from the bottom of his heart desire, is mistaken in thinking that he prays. ↗

— François Fénelon

#honesty #love-of-god #prayer #love

You know, if you ain't poor, you might think it's the folks in them big ole fine brick churches that's doin all the carin and the prayin. I wish you coulda seen all them little circles a'homeless folks with their heads bowed and their eyes closed, whisperin what was on their hearts. Seemed like they didn't have nothin to give, but they was givin what they had, taken the time to knock on God's front door and ask Him to heal this woman that loved them. ↗

— Ron Hall

#love

Practicing the Presence of God is bringing our “heart” – body, soul, and mind – to God, to be in His Presence – to love Him, to worship Him, to lay our troubles and triumphs with Him, to rest in Him. What a glorious idea….but few of us ever find that rest! ↗

— David Paul Kikrpatrick

#prayer #presence #love

Joni discovered the best way to put the halter on her horse without being animal resisting and fleeing was to turn her back until he nuzzled up to her. At that point, she could slip the halter on. Just so, she surmises, sometimes God waits for us to turn our backs on what we desire most and to trust Him. ↗

— Joni Eareckson Tada

#prayer #love

Since both the departed saints and we ourselves are in Christ, we share with them in the 'communion of saints.' They are still our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we celebrate the Eucharist they are there with us, along with the angels and archangels. Why then should we not pray for and with them? The reason the Reformers and their successors did their best to outlaw praying for the dead was because that had been so bound up with the notion of purgatory and the need to get people out of it as soon as possible. Once we rule out purgatory, I see no reason why we should not pray for and with the dead and every reason why we should - not that they will get out of purgatory but that they will be refreshed and filled with God's joy and peace. Love passes into prayer; we still love them; why not hold them, in that love, before God? ↗

— N.T. Wright

#communion-of-saints #paradise #prayer #praying-for-the-dead #purgatory

The mythology warped and twisted back along itself until Buffy Summers, the girl who once railed against the unfairness of being Chosen, looked at a squadron of girls who were just like she'd been and took away their right to Choose. ↗

— Seanan McGuire

#joss-whedon #media #pop-culture #love

That wish - that prayer - both men and women would have scorned me for - "But, Father, Thou wilt not despise!" I said, and felt that it was true. ↗

— Anne Brontë

#love #prayer #wish #love

My love for you is a prayer, she thought. Love is the only prayer I know. ↗

— Marion Zimmer Bradley

#love #prayer #love

She was the curator of her marriage, collector of swift quotes and unremarked-upon sensations. ↗

— Laura Furman

#short-story #the-mother-who-stayed #marriage

We thank Thee Lord For each hour of each day, For each minute spent at play, For the seed You helped us sow, For the blessed things that grow- We Thank Thee, Lord. For the roses wild that run, For the trees that shade the sun, For the rainbows brilliant blend, For the showers that You send- We Thank Thee, Lord. For the men who raise the wheat, For the bread we get to eat- For the cattle that we need, For the pastures where they feed- We Thank Thee, Lord. For our humble, small abode, For the blessings You bestowed, For the roof that shields the storm, For the walls that keep us warm, We Thank Thee, Lord. ↗

— Anthony J. Pettito

#prayer #men