“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
— Søren Kierkegaard
“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.” — Søren Kierkegaard
human-to-divine interface is often called prayer.
Gregg Braden • The Divine Matrix: Bridging Time, Space, Miracles and Belief
we pray not so much to please or change God, but to change ourselves—not because God needs our prayers, but because we do.
Sarah Hurwitz • Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life--in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There)
I am starting to see there is a difference between “saying prayers” and honest praying. Both can sound the same on the outside, but the former is too often motivated by a sense of obligation and guilt; whereas the latter is motivated by a conviction that I am completely helpless to “do life” on my own. Or in the case of praying for others, that I a
... See moreDavid Powlison • A Praying Life
And one should wish for no prayer, except precisely the prayer that God gives us—probably very distracted and unsatisfactory in every way.”
Martin Laird • Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation
Prayer, both ecclesial and personal prayer, thus ranks higher than all action, not in the first place as a source of psychological energy (“refueling,” as they say today), but as the act of worship and glorification that befits love,
James K. A. Smith • You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit
“I am not a praying Christian; I am a working Christian.” But praying is working. It is the most effective work that anyone can do; that is, we can often bring more to pass by praying than we can by any other form of effort we might put forth.