--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dear friend, I pray thee, if thou wouldst…" description: "\"Dear friend, I pray thee, if thou wouldst be proving Thy strong regard for me, Make me no vows. Lip-service is not loving; Let thy faith speak for thee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_dear_dear-friend-i-pray-thee-if-thou-wouldst_519373.png" --- # Dear friend, I pray thee, if thou wouldst be proving Thy… ![“Dear friend, I pray thee, if thou wouldst be proving Thy strong regard for me, Make me no vows. Lip-service is not loving; Let thy faith speak for thee.” quote by Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_dear_dear-friend-i-pray-thee-if-thou-wouldst_519373.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_dear_dear-friend-i-pray-thee-if-thou-wouldst_519373.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_dear_dear-friend-i-pray-thee-if-thou-wouldst_519373.png) > “Dear friend, I pray thee, if thou wouldst be proving Thy strong regard for me, Make me no vows. Lip-service is not loving; Let thy faith speak for thee.” [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker asks a loved one to demonstrate genuine care through actions rather than empty promises. **In simple terms:** Show love through deeds, not words. Key Takeaway Let actions speak love. Themes authenticity faith relationships Mood thoughtful hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - friendship building - personal vows Key Concepts trust spiritual commitment Questions to Reflect On - What actions would you consider a true vow? - How can we balance words and deeds? A Different Perspective People may fear vulnerability when asked to act. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dear friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [I pray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-pray/) [Lip service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lip-service/) [Lips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lips/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Vow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vow/) [Vows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vows/) ## Related quotes > [“That’s why you shouldn’t make vows. The moment you do, fate starts conspiring to shove them down your throat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sullivan/that-s-why-you-shouldn-t-make-vows-the-moment-you-do-fate-starts/) [Michael J. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sullivan/) > [“You see, love is a funny thing. There are no guarantees, just the day-to-day and the moment. You make vows, hope for the best,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-probst/you-see-love-is-a-funny-thing-there-are-no-guarantees-just-the-day-to/) [Jennifer Probst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-probst/) > [“We make vows at the beginnings of things. We make vows we intend to keep, and then we spend our days in life’s middle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micha-boyett/we-make-vows-at-the-beginnings-of-things-we-make-vows-we-intend-to/) Micha Boyett > [“we all make vows, Jimmy. 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Like Eden's dead probationary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/how-shall-i-speak-thee-or-thy-power-address-thou-god-of-our-idolatry/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [“Language reveals the man. Speak that I may see thee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-johnson/language-reveals-the-man-speak-that-i-may-see-thee/) [Ben Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-johnson/) > [“Be not desirous to know what people say; if they speak well of thee, it will feed thy pride, if ill, it will stir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/be-not-desirous-to-know-what-people-say-if-they-speak-well-of-thee-it/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [“Day by day, dear Lord, Of Thee three things I pray. To see Thee more clearly, Love Thee more dearly, Follow Thee more nearly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/day-by-day-dear-lord-of-thee-three-things-i-pray-to-see-thee-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ella Wheeler Wilcox > [A day which passed without a poem from my pen I considered lost and misused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/a-day-which-passed-without-a-poem-from-my-pen-i-considered-lost-and/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Talk health. The dreary, never-changing tale Of mortal maladies is worn and stale. You cannot charm, or interest, or please By harping in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/talk-health-the-dreary-never-changing-tale-of-mortal-maladies-is-worn/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Why dost thou shrink from my approach, O Man? Why dost thou ever flee in fear, and cling To my false rival, Life? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/why-dost-thou-shrink-from-my-approach-o-man-why-dost-thou-ever-flee/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [With every rising of the sun Think of your life as just begun. 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The autumn wood robed in its scarlet clothes, The matchless tinting on the royal rose Whose velvet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/all-perfect-things-are-saddening-in-effect-the-autumn-wood-robed-in/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Content is not the pathway to great deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/content-is-not-the-pathway-to-great-deeds/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Don't anticipate the happiness of tomorrow. Discover it today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/don-t-anticipate-the-happiness-of-tomorrow-discover-it-today/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“And yet I would not be a child again. For surely as the night succeeds the day, So surely will their mirth turn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/and-yet-i-would-not-be-a-child-again-for-surely-as-the-night-succeeds/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Day's sweetest moments are at dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/day-s-sweetest-moments-are-at-dawn/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Oh! not for the great departed, Who formed our country's laws, And not for the bravest-hearted, Who died in freedom's cause, And not for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/oh-not-for-the-great-departed-who-formed-our-country-s-laws-and-not/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) [Explore all 240 Ella Wheeler Wilcox quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) ## More Dear quotes > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [O lands! O all so dear to me - what you are, I become part of that, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-lands-o-all-so-dear-to-me-what-you-are-i-become-part-of-that/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Most beautiful is the sight of those near and dear to us when our original kinship makes us of one mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/most-beautiful-is-the-sight-of-those-near-and-dear-to-us-when-our/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Oh, dear Hazel.” Aphrodite folded her fan. “Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course war is coming. 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It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Dear God...thank you for bein there when no one else was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-god-thank-you-for-bein-there-when-no-one-else-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Dear John, tell me everything. 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