„Modlitba není stroj. Není to kouzlo. Nejde o radu nabízenou Bohu.“
Originál
Prayer is not a machine. It is not magic. It is not advice offered to God.
The Efficacy of Prayer (1958)
Kontext: Prayer is not a machine. It is not magic. It is not advice offered to God. Our act, when we pray, must not, any more than all our other acts, be separated from the continuous act of God Himself, in which alone all finite causes operate. It would be even worse to think of those who get what they pray for as a sort of court favorites, people who have influence with the throne. The refused prayer of Christ in Gethsemane is answer enough to that. And I dare not leave out the hard saying which I once heard from an experienced Christian: “I have seen many striking answers to prayer and more than one that I thought miraculous. But they usually come at the beginning: before conversion, or soon after it. As the Christian life proceeds, they tend to be rarer. The refusals, too, are not only more frequent; they become more unmistakable, more emphatic.” Does God then forsake just those who serve Him best? Well, He who served Him best of all said, near His tortured death, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” When God becomes man, that Man, of all others, is least comforted by God, at His greatest need. There is a mystery here which, even if I had the power, I might not have the courage to explore. Meanwhile, little people like you and me, if our prayers are sometimes granted, beyond all hope and probability, had better not draw hasty conclusions to our own advantage. If we were stronger, we might be less tenderly treated. If we were braver, we might be sent, with far less help, to defend far more desperate posts in the great battle.
Pomozte nám doplnit zdroj, originální znění a další informace
Podobné citáty

„To nejlepší, co můžeme říci Bohu v modlitbě, je to, co on řekl nám ve svém Slově.“
Originál: (en) The best we can say to God in prayer, is what He has said to us.
Zdroj: [Henry, Matthew, Commentary to the Whole Bible: Genesis, Chapter XXXII., http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc1.Gen.xxxiii.html, 6.9.2006, 2.2.2015, Christian Classic Ethereal Library, angličtina]

„Prospěšná bývá rada jen v jednom případě. V jakém? Když jde Pokora k Moudrosti na radu.“
Přisuzované

„Modlete se často; neboť modlitba je štítem pro duši, oběť Bohu a metlou pro Satana.“
Originál: (en) Pray often; for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan.
Zdroj: [Bunyan, John, 1873, The complete works of John Bunyan, Bradley, Garretson & Co., 80, angličtina]

„Žena málokdy žádá o radu před tím, než si jde kupovat svatební šaty.“