10 quotes on the importance of prayer

Jonathan Hayashi Sept. 25, 2024

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Someone approached me recently and asked me the question, "So Jonathan, how are you doing in your personal prayer life?"

This caught me off guard. As I began to consider that question, I wrestled over my prayer time with the Lord.

A 2013 Pew Research Center survey found that more than half of Americans said they pray every day. But despite that, I get a sense from years of ministry and simply talking to other Christians that many feel that their prayer lives are weak.

As I consider my prayer for others compared to Paul's prayer for the Ephesians believers (Eph 1:15-23), it has challenged my prayer life.

The more I grow in my faith, I realize how important prayer plays in the role of one's spiritual formation. I want to move toward a more vibrant and powerful prayer life for His glory.

If prayer is one of the humblest postures a man can take, then the opposite is true—prayerlessness is pridefulness.

Here are 10 quotes from theologians of the past who have captured the importance of prayer.

1. "I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach." —Charles Spurgeon

2. "Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays." —Soren Kierkegaard

3. "When we pray to God, we must seek nothing—nothing." —St. Francis of Assisi

4. "When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words be without heart." —John Bunyan

5. "The Lord longs to hear all of our concerns. Any burden too small to be turned into prayer is too small to be made into a burden." —Corrie Ten Boom

6. "What are your trials causing you to do: Pray or pout? Praise or protest?" —Tony Merido

7. "I'd rather be able to pray than to be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught his disciples how to preach, but only how to pray." —D.L. Moody

8. "Prayer is not learned in a classroom but in the closet." —E. M. Bounds

9. "The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history." —Andrew Murray

10. "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer." —Martin Luther

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Dr. Jonathan Hayashi earned his B.A. from Moody Bible Institute with a double concentration in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies; a M.A., in Congregational Leadership from Moody Theological Seminary, and Doctorate of Educational Ministry in Biblical Counseling from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He presently serves on the Executive Committee at Southwest Baptist University (Bolivar, MO) and serves on the Board of Trustees at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as Senior Pastor at Northern Hills Baptist Church Holt, Missouri from 2020-2022. Learn More »

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