Quotations on Prayer that Stir the Soul

Insights from Augustine, Teresa of Avila, Martin Luther, and more.

For the highest prayer is to the goodness of God, and that comes down to us in our lowest need. It quickens our soul and gives it life, and makes it grow in grace and virtue. It is nearest in nature and readiest in grace; for it is the same grace which the soul seeks and always will.
—Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

I make it my business only to persevere in his holy presence, wherein I keep myself by a simple attention, and a general fond regard to God, which I may call an actual presence of God; or, to speak better, an habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with God.
—Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

If our presence is dripping with Christ, it will drip with alluring power and also cause demons to flee.
—Marlena Graves, The Way Up Is Down

O Jesus, you who suffer, grant that today and every day I may be able to see you in the person of your sick ones and that, by offering them my care, I may serve you. Grant that, even if you are hidden under the unattractive disguise of anger, of crime, or of madness, I may recognize you and say, “Jesus, you who suffer, how sweet it is to serve you.”
—Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World, edited by Becky Benenate

So starting today, we craft a prayer strategy with peace in mind, leading to peace of mind for ourselves and the ones we love.
—Priscilla Shirer, Fervent

When we pray we must hold fast and believe that God has heard our prayer. It was for this reason that the ancients defined prayer as an Ascensus mentis ad Deum, “a climbing up of the heart unto God.”
—Martin Luther, Table Talk, featured in Devotional Classics edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith

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