--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should not pray for God to be on our…" description: "\"We should not pray for God to be on our side, but pray that we may be on God's side.\" — Billy Graham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/billy-graham-234_baptists_we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our_179596.png" --- # We should not pray for God to be on our side, but pray… ![“We should not pray for God to be on our side, but pray that we may be on God's side.” quote by Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/billy-graham-234_baptists_we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our_179596.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/billy-graham-234_baptists_we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our_179596.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/billy-graham-234_baptists_we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our_179596.png) > “We should not pray for God to be on our side, but pray that we may be on God's side.” [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A call to align oneself with divine will rather than seeking divine favor, emphasizing humility and service. **In simple terms:** Serve God, don’t ask for God’s favor. Key Takeaway Seek to be on God’s side. Themes faith humility service Mood reverent inspirational Type spiritual ethical When to use this quote - personal prayer - community service - leadership decisionsspiritual practice Key Concepts theology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can you serve rather than seek? - What does being on God’s side mean to you? A Different Perspective May be difficult for those feeling abandoned. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baptists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baptists/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Pastor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pastor/) [Pray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pray/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Preacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preacher/) ## Related quotes > [When the family is destroyed, society eventually disintegrates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/when-the-family-is-destroyed-society-eventually-disintegrates/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Never pray to God for release of your problems. Never pray to God to change your life, and to give you something better. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/never-pray-to-god-for-release-of-your-problems-never-pray-to-god-to/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [I believe many a man is praying to God to fill him, when he is full already with something else. Before we pray that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/i-believe-many-a-man-is-praying-to-god-to-fill-him-when-he-is-full/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [Never give up in praying to God. Pray with a clean mind and with faith. When praying, always rejoice in hope that the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kandeh-bangs/never-give-up-in-praying-to-god-pray-with-a-clean-mind-and-with-faith/) Kandeh Bangs > [If you want to talk to God, pray. If you want him to talk to you, read your scriptures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/if-you-want-to-talk-to-god-pray-if-you-want-him-to-talk-to-you-read/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [Place your desires before God. Pray about them and trust God to give them to you if and when they’re right for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/place-your-desires-before-god-pray-about-them-and-trust-god-to-give/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Everybody has God inside, but not everybody is able to see God within. One can see God only when one cries for Him. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/everybody-has-god-inside-but-not-everybody-is-able-to-see-god-within/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [To pray as God would have us pray is the greatest achievement of earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-chadwick/to-pray-as-god-would-have-us-pray-is-the-greatest-achievement-of-earth/) [Samuel Chadwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-chadwick/) > [“I used to pray, “I’m gonna live for God!” Now I pray, “God, come live through me.” I used to pray, “I’m gonna work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-cordeiro/i-used-to-pray-i-m-gonna-live-for-god-now-i-pray-god-come-live/) [Wayne Cordeiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-cordeiro/) > [Don't pray that God's on our side, pray that we're on his side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/don-t-pray-that-god-s-on-our-side-pray-that-we-re-on-his-side/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I used to pray that God would do this or that; now I pray that God will make His will known to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-may-ling/i-used-to-pray-that-god-would-do-this-or-that-now-i-pray-that-god/) [Soong May-ling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soong-may-ling/) > [I don't pray so that I can change God. I pray so that God can change me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-don-t-pray-so-that-i-can-change-god-i-pray-so-that-god-can-change-me/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If ever there was a time this country needed the intervention of God, it is now. We can and should pray for America as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/if-ever-there-was-a-time-this-country-needed-the-intervention-of-god-2/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I don't just pray for God to open doors, I also pray for God to close doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/i-don-t-just-pray-for-god-to-open-doors-i-also-pray-for-god-to-close/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) ## More by Billy Graham > [Faith is the avenue to salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-the-avenue-to-salvation-not-intellectual-understanding-not/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/do-all-the-good-you-can-by-all-the-means-you-can-in-all-the-ways-you/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“Make sure of your salvation by turning your life over to Him now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/make-sure-of-your-salvation-by-turning-your-life-over-to-him-now/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Suffering in life can uncover untold depths of character and unknown strength for service. People who go through life unscathed by sorrow and untouched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/suffering-in-life-can-uncover-untold-depths-of-character-and-unknown/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Faith is loved and honored by God more than any other single thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-loved-and-honored-by-god-more-than-any-other-single-thing/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [If people are kicking you in the behind, at least you're in front of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/if-people-are-kicking-you-in-the-behind-at-least-you-re-in-front-of/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I think it is a sin to look at another person as inferior to yourself because of race or because of ethnic background and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/i-think-it-is-a-sin-to-look-at-another-person-as-inferior-to-yourself/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [My hope does not rest in the affairs of this world. It rests in Christ who is coming again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/my-hope-does-not-rest-in-the-affairs-of-this-world-it-rests-in-christ/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [To get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/to-get-nations-back-on-their-feet-we-must-first-get-down-on-our-knees/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Those who have suffered make the best comforters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-who-have-suffered-make-the-best-comforters/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Sin is the second most powerful force in the universe, for it sent Jesus to the cross. Only one force is greater-the love of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/sin-is-the-second-most-powerful-force-in-the-universe-for-it-sent/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Ruth and I don't have a perfect marriage, but we have a great one. How can I say two things that seem so contradictory?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/ruth-and-i-don-t-have-a-perfect-marriage-but-we-have-a-great-one-how/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) [Explore all 853 Billy Graham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) ## More Baptists quotes > [I was overcome by the Holy Ghost one time, but in a Baptist way. I was six or seven, and I was saved. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/i-was-overcome-by-the-holy-ghost-one-time-but-in-a-baptist-way-i-was/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [I grew up in a Southern Baptist-style church with a choir, a band, and music, but I've been asking myself my whole life, 'Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-grew-up-in-a-southern-baptist-style-church-with-a-choir-a-band-and/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [My family is Jewish, Buddhist, Baptist and Catholic. I don't believe in man-made religions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/my-family-is-jewish-buddhist-baptist-and-catholic-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [Martha Stewart contributes more to our civility than the Baptist Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/martha-stewart-contributes-more-to-our-civility-than-the-baptist/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [If my ruling disposition is self-interest, I perceive that everything that happens to me is always for or against my self-interest; if, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-my-ruling-disposition-is-self-interest-i-perceive-that-everything/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Christianity has a built-in defense system: anything that questions a belief, no matter how logical the argument is, is the work of Satan by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/christianity-has-a-built-in-defense-system-anything-that-questions-a/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I grew up in that minority. I grew up in the South, in Roswell, Georgia, and it was heavily white, Baptist, conservative. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/i-grew-up-in-that-minority-i-grew-up-in-the-south-in-roswell-georgia/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [John the Baptist never performed any miracles. Yet, he was greater than any of the Old Testament prophets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/john-the-baptist-never-performed-any-miracles-yet-he-was-greater-than/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [He's a Catholic, a Hindy, an atheist, a Chein, a Buddhist, a Baptist and a Jew, and he knows, he shouldn't kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffy-sainte-marie/he-s-a-catholic-a-hindy-an-atheist-a-chein-a-buddhist-a-baptist-and-a/) [Buffy Sainte-Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffy-sainte-marie/) > [The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-biological-evolutionary-perception-of-life-and-of-human-qualities/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I was baptized a Baptist, but I'm just Christian, as far as I'm concerned. I could go in any church, doesn't matter if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/i-was-baptized-a-baptist-but-i-m-just-christian-as-far-as-i-m/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) > [When Jesus stepped into the waters of the Jordan and was baptized by John the Baptist, he did so not because he was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/when-jesus-stepped-into-the-waters-of-the-jordan-and-was-baptized-by/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It has never been recommended to confuse "loving" with "seeking to please"... ...Salome pleased Herod's guests; I can hardly believe she was burning with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/it-has-never-been-recommended-to-confuse-loving-with-seeking-to/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [A Roman Catholic worships a god who speaks through the Pope, while a Baptist worships a god who does not. They cannot be worshipping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-hayes/a-roman-catholic-worships-a-god-who-speaks-through-the-pope-while-a/) [Judith Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-hayes/) > [I'm a 48-year-old writer who can remember being a 10-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an 80-year-old writer. I'm also comfortably asocial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-a-48-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-10-year-old-writer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 283 Baptists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baptists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We should not pray for God to be on our side, but pray that we may be on God's side.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Billy Graham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our-side-but-pray-that-we-may-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Baptists" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our-side-but-pray-that-we-may-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/billy-graham-234_baptists_we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our_179596.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/billy-graham-234_baptists_we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our_179596.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/billy-graham-234_baptists_we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our_179596.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We should not pray for God to be on our side, but pray that we may be on God's side.” — Billy Graham", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Billy Graham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We should not pray for God...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our-side-but-pray-that-we-may-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/we-should-not-pray-for-god-to-be-on-our-side-but-pray-that-we-may-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```