--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am noticing that we're getting more and…" description: "\"I am noticing that we're getting more and more people - and I don't know how to handle this - who come to me saying, \"Would you pray for my son? Would ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/cecil-williams-31081_children_i-am-noticing-that-we-re-getting-more-an_2843444.jpg" --- # I am noticing that we're getting more and more people… ![“I am noticing that we're getting more and more people - and I don't know how to handle this - who come to me saying, "Would you pray for my son? Would you pray for my daughter?" I've been saying, "Pray for them yourself." But they don't want that because they think I've got something that's…” quote by Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/cecil-williams-31081_children_i-am-noticing-that-we-re-getting-more-an_2843444.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/cecil-williams-31081_children_i-am-noticing-that-we-re-getting-more-an_2843444.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/cecil-williams-31081_children_i-am-noticing-that-we-re-getting-more-an_2843444.jpg) > “I am noticing that we're getting more and more people - and I don't know how to handle this - who come to me saying, "Would you pray for my son? Would you pray for my daughter?" I've been saying, "Pray for them yourself." But they don't want that because they think I've got something that's greater than what they have. I keep saying, "I don't! Not really. I got the title 'minister; but I don't want to exploit you. You do it, too." I think the way to solve it is to do it together. We're going to pray in community, you see?” [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prayer should be a shared practice, not a transactional request to a leader. **In simple terms:** Prayer is communal, not a service. Key Takeaway Foster collective prayer, avoid hierarchy. Themes faith community service Mood reflective empathetic Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - Church gatherings - support groups - counseling sessions - online forums Key Concepts Theology leadership dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders model humility in spiritual care? - What barriers prevent communal prayer? A Different Perspective Some may view shared prayer as less personal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“I know what it feels like to have my choices taken away. I pray no daughter of your kingdom will ever have to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/i-know-what-it-feels-like-to-have-my-choices-taken-away-i-pray-no/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [“Then a priestess said, “Speak to us of Prayer.” And he answered, saying: You pray in your distress and in your need; would that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/then-a-priestess-said-speak-to-us-of-prayer-and-he-answered-saying/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [I think it's more important to pray for my son than go out with my friends drinking at a bar until midnight while he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-carr/i-think-it-s-more-important-to-pray-for-my-son-than-go-out-with-my/) [Derek Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-carr/) > [Lord we thank you for all our basic needs that you provide for us, the air we breath, the water, the food you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/lord-we-thank-you-for-all-our-basic-needs-that-you-provide-for-us-the/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [My son, when you pray, do it like a person who is bidding farewell to this world, and don't assume you will have another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muadh-ibn-jabal/my-son-when-you-pray-do-it-like-a-person-who-is-bidding-farewell-to/) Muadh ibn Jabal > [Lord please keep us encouraged especially when our journey gets rough, our faith grows weak, and our spirit gets lonely, Lord we ask that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/lord-please-keep-us-encouraged-especially-when-our-journey-gets-rough-2/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [“you are going to pray, then don’t worry. And if you are going to worry, then don’t bother praying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/you-are-going-to-pray-then-don-t-worry-and-if-you-are-going-to-worry/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [I don't like when people say, 'I'll pray for you. I'm going to pray for you. Praying for you.' You're going to pray for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal-buress/i-don-t-like-when-people-say-i-ll-pray-for-you-i-m-going-to-pray-for/) [Hannibal Buress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal-buress/) > [“Never underestimate the power of prayer! There is nothing that is impossible to God. Our Lord can heal the sick and work situations out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-mcrae/never-underestimate-the-power-of-prayer-there-is-nothing-that-is/) [Kimberly McRae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-mcrae/) > [“Sam and Alex scurried out of the kitchen. I hoped they were going to formulate a cunning plan to get us all out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/sam-and-alex-scurried-out-of-the-kitchen-i-hoped-they-were-going-to/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [The Christian is prepared to say, 'I don't like the sound of this, ... but if this is what it really means, I'm going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/the-christian-is-prepared-to-say-i-don-t-like-the-sound-of-this-but/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [Now you pray, and I'm going to pray for you that the Lord will speak to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/now-you-pray-and-i-m-going-to-pray-for-you-that-the-lord-will-speak/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [We are both going to pray that we may live together all our lives and die the same day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-both-going-to-pray-that-we-may-live-together-all-our-lives-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm going to pray for Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-johnson-jr/i-m-going-to-pray-for-donald-trump/) [Ernie Johnson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-johnson-jr/) > [When I went through my divorce, I decided that I was going to pray this time for someone. Then, God sent me someone. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-knowles/when-i-went-through-my-divorce-i-decided-that-i-was-going-to-pray/) [Tina Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-knowles/) ## More by Cecil Williams > [When people get up on the stage and say, "I've got AIDS," or "I'm in recovery," gosh, it's hard for them. It's like that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/when-people-get-up-on-the-stage-and-say-i-ve-got-aids-or-i-m-in/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I need to be in touch with the people. You've got to look in their eyes, and you've got to feel what they feel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-need-to-be-in-touch-with-the-people-you-ve-got-to-look-in-their/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [The music certainly plays a major role. You can be free enough to comfort each other, to touch each other, to embrace each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/the-music-certainly-plays-a-major-role-you-can-be-free-enough-to/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [Any racism or barriers that may be put up, you get a tremendous sense of resistance. The more you push me, the greater I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/any-racism-or-barriers-that-may-be-put-up-you-get-a-tremendous-sense/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I don't go and study other folks. I come from where I came from, as a kid, in the little black church I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-don-t-go-and-study-other-folks-i-come-from-where-i-came-from-as-a/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [When the musician starts improvising, he never can go back to what he did last Sunday. That's what's frightening to a lot of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/when-the-musician-starts-improvising-he-never-can-go-back-to-what-he/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I'm not interested in being an intellectual or in being traditional, conventional. I'm not interested in having great wisdom. I'm not interested in those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-m-not-interested-in-being-an-intellectual-or-in-being-traditional/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [There's great poetry in the Old Testament and the New Testament. And I'm not interested in trying to prove whether this paragraph is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/there-s-great-poetry-in-the-old-testament-and-the-new-testament-and-i/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I have excessive energy, tremendous energy. I have a sense of people. I can feel them, pretty much so, in a short time. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-have-excessive-energy-tremendous-energy-i-have-a-sense-of-people-i/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [Death is a reality, but life is a reality also. You got to live at this time in your life like you've never lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/death-is-a-reality-but-life-is-a-reality-also-you-got-to-live-at-this/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I'm a folk preacher. A folk therapist. A folk musician. I come from authentically that which is of my experience. Therefore, the music is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-m-a-folk-preacher-a-folk-therapist-a-folk-musician-i-come-from/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [If you got the truth, you put it out there, and everybody says, "Oh, my God. That's me." And then they improvise also. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/if-you-got-the-truth-you-put-it-out-there-and-everybody-says-oh-my/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I was the fifth child in a family of six, five boys and one girl. Bless that poor girl. We were very poor; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-was-the-fifth-child-in-a-family-of-six-five-boys-and-one-girl-bless/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [Research, as the college student will come to know it, is relatively thorough investigation, primarily in libraries, of a properly limited topic, and presentation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/research-as-the-college-student-will-come-to-know-it-is-relatively/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [That's critical to me, the community. When I was 12 years old, I had a mental breakdown; I went berserk for a long time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/that-s-critical-to-me-the-community-when-i-was-12-years-old-i-had-a/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) [Explore all 16 Cecil Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am noticing that we're getting more and more people - and I don't know how to handle this - who come to me saying, \"Would you pray for my son? Would you pray for my daughter?\" I've been saying, \"Pray for them yourself.\" But they don't want that because they think I've got something that's greater than what they have. I keep saying, \"I don't! Not really. I got the title 'minister; but I don't want to exploit you. You do it, too.\" I think the way to solve it is to do it together. 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