Quotes About Spirituality

It occurs to me, in fact, that laughter has much in common with prayer. In both acts, we stand on equal ground, freely acknowledging ourselves as fallen creatures. We take ourselves less seriously. We think of our creatureliness. Work divides and ranks; laughter and prayer unite. Finding God in Unexpected Places(245

Unfortunately, most of my secular friends would agree with Bill Gates, who considers religion a waste of time: "There's a lot more I could be doing on Sunday morning," he told an interviewer. They view the church not as a change agent that can affect all of society but as a place where like-minded people go to feel better about themselves.

A church that lives by power dies by power.

I remind myself that prayer means keeping company with God who is already present.

He transforms pain, using it to teach and strengthen us, if we allow it to turn us toward him.

si alguna vez me llego a preguntar cuál será la respuesta «espiritual" adecuada al dolor y el sufrimiento, puedo observar cómo reaccionó Jesús ante sus propios sufrimientos: con temor y temblor, con gritos y lágrimas.

Does the Christian emphasis on love, grace, and forgiveness have any relevance outside quarreling families or church encounter groups? In a world where force matters most, a lofty ideal like forgiveness may seem as insubstantial as vapor.

It has taken me years to distill the Gospel out of the subculture in which I first encountered it. Sadly, many of my friends gave up on the effort, never getting to Jesus because the pettiness of the church blocked the way.

God, help me to see others not as my enemies or as ungodly but rather as thirsty people. And give me the courage and compassion to offer your Living Water, which alone quenches deep thirst.

According to Gallup polls, more Americans will pray this week than will exercise, drive a car, have sex, or go to work. Nine in ten of us pray regularly, and three out of four claim to pray every day. To

Be still and know that I am God." I read in this familiar verse from Psalm 46 two commands of equal importance. First, I must be still, something that modern life conspires against. Ten years ago I responded to letters within a couple of weeks and kept my correspondents happy. Five years ago I faxed a response in a couple of days and they seemed content. Now they want email responses the same day and berate me for not using instant messaging or a mobile phone.

about the key to something many Christ-followers often talk and pray about: genuine revival.

prayer incorporates the unknown and unpredictable in the outworking of God's grace.

La presencia visible de Dios no mejoró en nada su fe ni la hizo duradera.

never live as though God does not exist." Or, stated positively, "Always live in awareness of God's existence.

I fight the tentacular grip of ungrace in my own life. Although I may not perpetuate the strictness of my upbringing, I battle daily against pride, judgmentalism, and a feeling that I must somehow earn God's approval.

Over time Christians learned that the faith grows best from the bottom up rather than being imposed from the top down.

Dios no le importa tanto que lo analicemos. Principalmente, lo que quiere es que lo amemos.

He had not come primarily to heal the world's cells, but to heal its souls.

Dr. Paul Tournier expresses this pattern in the language of psychiatry: "God blots out conscious guilt, but He brings to consciousness repressed guilt.

I can only advance in the kingdom if I become like that woman: trembling, humbled, without excuse, my palms open to receive God's grace.

The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.

Whenever faith seems an entitlement, or a measuring rod, we cast our lots with the Pharisees and grace softly slips away.

This is one of the difficulties and pleasures of studying the Inklings; Christians all, they offer, along with the expected 20th-century psychological explanations for behavior, unexpected spiritual ones.