Why George Müller Started An Orphanage

"I certainly did from my heart desire to be used by God to benefit the bodies of poor children, bereaved of both parents, and seek in other respects, with the help of God, to do them good for this life;--I also particularly longed to be used by God in getting the dear orphans trained up in the fear of God;--but still, the first and primary object of the work was (and still is:) that God might be magnified by the fact, that the orphans under my care are provided with all they need, only by prayer and faith without anyone being asked by me or my fellow-laborers whereby it may be seen, that God is FAITHFUL STILL, and HEARS PRAYER STILL."

- George Müller

Source: Müller, George. Answers To Prayer From George Müller's Narratives. Compiled by A. E. C. Brooks. The Moody Press, 2008: p. 4-5.

The Lord's Prayer

"And as to the Lord’s prayer, although it be an easy thing to say, Our Father, etc., with the mouth; yet there is very few that can, in the Spirit, say the two first words in that prayer; that is, that can call God their Father, as knowing what it is to be born again, and as having experience, that they are begotten of the Spirit of God: which if they do not, all is but babbling, etc."

- John Bunyan

Source: Bunyan, John. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. Public Domain Books, 1996. Digital.

Prayer

"If our prayers were heard only in accordance with the idea of God to which we seem to ourselves to pray, how miserably would infinite wants wants be met!"

- George MacDonald

Source: Lewis, C. S. George MacDonald: An Anthology. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. New York: 1946. Pg 132.

Praying Backwards

"How would your prayer change if you began where you normally end? We habitually end our prayers with the phrase 'In Jesus' name, amen.' The amen means 'truly' or even 'I really mean this.' But what are we actually saying? We are supposed to be saying that everything we prayed for was offered 'in Jesus name,' we pray for his sake more than our own. We still present our desires and priorities to Christ's priorities. The final phrase of our prayer reminds us, as well as commits us, to submit all our requests to the glory of Jesus."

- Bryan Chapell

Source: Praying Backwards: Transforming Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus' Name. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2005. Print. 13

Depend upon God

"When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do; when we depend on education, we get what education can do; when we depend upon man, we get what man can do; when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do."

- A.C. Dixon

Source: Piper, John. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals. B&H Books, 2002. 56. Print.

Prayer and the Sovereignty of God

"Pray as though everything depends on God, and work as though everything depends on you."

- Augustine

Source: Wiersbe, Warren. The Bible Exposition Commentary. New Testament Vol 1. Colorado Springs: Victor, 2001. 419.

Prayer and Desire

"Anything large enough for a wish to light upon, is large enough to hang a prayer upon: the thought of Him to whom that prayer goes will purify and correct the desire."

- George MacDonald

Source: Lewis, C. S. George MacDonald: An Anthology. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. New York: 1946. Pg 50.

Food for Thought...Literally

"Many people ask for God's blessing before they partake of a meal, but the Jews were instructed also to give thanks after the meal was eaten. 'When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you' (Deuteronomy 8:10). Why? The answer is in Deuteronomy 6:11-12: 'Then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord.' When our blessings are more meaningful to us than the God who gave them, we've taken the first step toward idolatry. It delights the heart of God when His children are thankful for the Giver, and not just the gifts."

- Warren W. Wiersbe

Source: Wiersbe, Warren W. Bless You: Receiving and Sharing the Blessings of the Lord. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. 16. Print.

One With The Vine

"Keep me, Lord, with thee. I call from out the dark—Hear in thy light, of which I am a spark. I know not what is mine and what is thine—Of branch and stem I miss the differing mark—But if a mere hair's-breadth me separateth, that hair's breadth is eternal, infinite death. For sap thy dead branch calls, O living Vine!"

- George MacDonald

Source: MacDonald, George. Diary of an Old Soul. Augsburg Publishing House, 1975. p. 81.

Prayer

"One of the best ways to discover a Christian's chief anxieties and ambitions is to study the content of his prayers and the intensity with which he prays them. We all pray about what concerns us, and are evidently not concerned about matters we do not include in our prayers. Prayer expresses desire....As the hymn puts it, 'Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed.'"

- John Stott

Source: Stott, John R. W. The Message of Ephesians. Inter-Varsity Press, 1979. P. 131