6 Quotes on Prayer from the 17th Century Until Today

Benjamin Sheu
Nov 4 · 4 min read

1. “There’s no greater lifestyle and no greater happiness than that of having a continual conversation with God”

This was said by Brother Lawrence (1614–1691), who is best known for discovering the art of “practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end.” He learned that the time he spent in communion with the Lord should be the same whether he was working as a cook, with people, or alone on his knees in prayer. He learned to cultivate the deep presence of God to the point that he was able to say, “I am doing now what I will do for all eternity. I am blessing God, praising Him, adoring Him, and loving Him with all my heart.”

2. “When at any time the passions are turbulent, a gentle retreat inwards to a present God easily deadens and pacifies them, and any other way of contending with them, rather irritates than appeases them.”

Jeanne Guyon (1648–1717) is known for her involvement in the Quietist movement in France, that is, the devotion to prayer in the quiet place. Many of her works speak of quieting yourself in the presence of God, and retreating inward instead of dwelling in the mind. ⠀

Based on John 17:23, which says, “…and we will come to him and make our home with him,” Guyon believed that we are often looking for outward signs of God and governed by our environment, but we should instead retreat inwards to the living presence of God within us.

3. “Satan, the Hinderer, may build a barrier about us, but he can never roof us in so that we cannot look up”

This quote was said by James Hudson Taylor (1832–1905), a missionary to China and the founder of the China Inland Mission. With a zeal for evangelism and a heart for China, Taylor experienced a lot of hindrance from Satan, but through that was able to learn the power of prayer. He knew that Jesus Christ is always interceding for us, that He is always praying for us, and that in every and any situation, we can bring our requests to God. No matter how pressed we feel or how oppressed we are by the attacks of Satan, we will always be able to look up.

4. “Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you. Strive in prayer, let faith fill your heart — so will you be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

Andrew Murray (1828–1917) lived and ministered as both a pastor and author from the towns and villages of South Africa, and is known for His life of persistent and believing prayer. He considered prayer our personal home base from which we live our Christian lives and extend ourselves to others. We often limit our prayers to something of habit or to stir up our emotions, and lack spiritual power. Murray believed that true prayer takes hold of God’s strength and opens up the gates of heaven to us as we unlock the power of prayer in His name.

5. “Is prayer your steering wheel of your spare tire?” ⠀
-Corrie Ten Boom (1892–1983)

Is prayer our first hope or our last ditched effort? Do we turn to God in all things, or only when we feel that we have to? Imagine what it would be like to be in God’s position, and to know our attitude toward Him and hear our prayers to Him. He may be hearing, “God, I’ve tried everything. I’ve done this and that to make things better, but I can’t do it. I’ve checked with everyone, so all I can do now is turn to you.” On the one hand, God saves those who call out to Him from a place of need, but how much better it would be if He is our first choice. How much more He would pour His riches of grace and mercy upon us!

6. “If I stop pursuing Christ, I am letting our relationship deteriorate. We never grow closer to God when we just live life; it takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness. When I pray, I sometimes ask God to make it the most intimate time of prayer I’ve ever had. Many times when I speak, whether at my church or another venue, I remind myself that I could die right after I finish, so what would I want my last words to be?”⠀

In this section of his book, Crazy Love: Overwhelemed by a Relentless God, Francis Chan (1967-) is talking about what things keep him going and help him focus on Jesus every day. Often, it is easy for us to grow complacent in our relationship with God, for priorities to shift, and for other things to take away our sense of urgency of pursuing Him. This section is a great reminder that each and every day has to be one of hard pursuit after God as if it is our last day.

Benjamin Sheu

Memories, Thoughts, and Inspirations | The Ordinary with the Extraordinary

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade