--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Worship does not consist in prayers and…" description: "\"Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of kindness.\" — Emanuel Swedenborg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/emanuel-swedenborg-3577_devotion_worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and_613884.png" --- # Worship does not consist in prayers and in external… ![“Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of kindness.” quote by Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/emanuel-swedenborg-3577_devotion_worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and_613884.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/emanuel-swedenborg-3577_devotion_worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and_613884.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/emanuel-swedenborg-3577_devotion_worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and_613884.png) > “Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of kindness.” [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True worship is expressed through kind actions, not merely ritual or prayer. **In simple terms:** Kindness shows real worship. Key Takeaway Live kindly daily. Themes kindness spirituality action Mood reflective inspirational Type ethical spiritual When to use this quote - volunteering - daily interactions - community service - helping strangers Key Concepts theology ethical behavior Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn kindness into lasting change? - What habits support compassionate living? A Different Perspective Kindness alone may not satisfy deeper spiritual needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devotion/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [External Devotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/external-devotion-4980331/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-kindness-430260/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) [Worship Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship-does-911636/) ## Related quotes > [A life of kindness is the primary meaning of divine worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/a-life-of-kindness-is-the-primary-meaning-of-divine-worship/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [In worship we have our neighbors to right and left, before and behind, yet the Eternal Presence is over all and beneath all. Worship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-raymond-kelly/in-worship-we-have-our-neighbors-to-right-and-left-before-and-behind/) [Thomas Raymond Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-raymond-kelly/) > [If worship does not change us it has not been worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/if-worship-does-not-change-us-it-has-not-been-worship/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [Ancient worship . . . does truth. All one has to do is to study the ancient liturgies to see that liturgies clearly do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-webber/ancient-worship-does-truth-all-one-has-to-do-is-to-study-the-ancient/) [Robert E. Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-webber/) > [Worship does not become worship until it changes the way we live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-noble/worship-does-not-become-worship-until-it-changes-the-way-we-live/) [Perry Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perry-noble/) > [“The kindness that we receive from others in life, is also the kindness that we will want to give. The harshness that we receive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/the-kindness-that-we-receive-from-others-in-life-is-also-the-kindness/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [This external worship of images has, however, been described in all our Shastras as the lowest of all the low forms of worship. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/this-external-worship-of-images-has-however-been-described-in-all-our/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Forms and rituals do not produce worship, nor does the disuse of forms and rituals. We can use all the right techniques and methods,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/forms-and-rituals-do-not-produce-worship-nor-does-the-disuse-of-forms/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [“We must let God be Himself in us. This means that we must let Him be Himself in others too. We ought not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-t-kendall/we-must-let-god-be-himself-in-us-this-means-that-we-must-let-him-be/) [R. T. Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-t-kendall/) > [Worship does not satisfy our hunger for God; it whets our appetite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/worship-does-not-satisfy-our-hunger-for-god-it-whets-our-appetite/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Ever since then I have known that if all the values in this world are more or less questionable, the most important thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-yevtushenko/ever-since-then-i-have-known-that-if-all-the-values-in-this-world-are/) [Yevgeny Yevtushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-yevtushenko/) > [Enjoy today's gift of life, appreciate every moment of life; and live life with kindness to another tomorrow may not be same as today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/enjoy-today-s-gift-of-life-appreciate-every-moment-of-life-and-live/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [They may rail at this life - from the hour I began it, I've found it a life full of kindness and bliss; And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/they-may-rail-at-this-life-from-the-hour-i-began-it-i-ve-found-it-a/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [And for all his life it would be kindness and love that made him cry, never pain or persecution, which on the contrary only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/and-for-all-his-life-it-would-be-kindness-and-love-that-made-him-cry/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [For a man, no more beautiful wish has ever found yet than wishing him a life full of kindness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/for-a-man-no-more-beautiful-wish-has-ever-found-yet-than-wishing-him/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## More by Emanuel Swedenborg > [The sky is an enormous man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/the-sky-is-an-enormous-man/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Heaven is not located on high, but where the good of love is, and this resides within a person, wherever he or she might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/heaven-is-not-located-on-high-but-where-the-good-of-love-is-and-this/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [All union is effected by love, and love is not love without trust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/all-union-is-effected-by-love-and-love-is-not-love-without-trust/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [What is true is true, and what is false is false...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/what-is-true-is-true-and-what-is-false-is-false/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Seen in its own right, a loving person's inner spirit is an angel of heaven, and while we are living in the body we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/seen-in-its-own-right-a-loving-person-s-inner-spirit-is-an-angel-of/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [The human race is the basis on which heaven is founded, is because man was last created, and that which is last created is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/the-human-race-is-the-basis-on-which-heaven-is-founded-is-because-man/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [A person who knows all that is good and all that is true---as much as can be known---but does not resist evils, knows nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/a-person-who-knows-all-that-is-good-and-all-that-is-true-as-much-as/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Adultery is an image of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/adultery-is-an-image-of-hell/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Goodness and love mould the form into their own image, and cause the joy and beauty of love to shine forth from every part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/goodness-and-love-mould-the-form-into-their-own-image-and-cause-the/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [A life of kindness is the primary meaning of divine worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/a-life-of-kindness-is-the-primary-meaning-of-divine-worship/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [The essence of love is that what is ours should belong to someone else. Feeling the joy of someone else as joy within ourselves-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/the-essence-of-love-is-that-what-is-ours-should-belong-to-someone/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [The Divine of the Lord in heaven is love, for the reason that love is receptive of all things of heaven, such as peace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/the-divine-of-the-lord-in-heaven-is-love-for-the-reason-that-love-is/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Man is so created that as to his internal he cannot die; for he is capable of believing in God, and thus of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/man-is-so-created-that-as-to-his-internal-he-cannot-die-for-he-is/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [A person's life from infancy to old age is nothing else than an advance from the world towards heaven, the last stage of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/a-person-s-life-from-infancy-to-old-age-is-nothing-else-than-an/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [The church of the Lord is spread over all the globe, and is thus universal; and all those are in it who have lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/the-church-of-the-lord-is-spread-over-all-the-globe-and-is-thus/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) [Explore all 127 Emanuel Swedenborg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) ## More Devotion quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [In freedom can be found many devotions: a devotion to love, a desire to believe, a willingness to be happy, a perseverance to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-freedom-can-be-found-many-devotions-a-devotion-to-love-a-desire-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can remember coming downstairs before school every day and my mom would be reading her Bible and doing her devotion and praying. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-fisher/i-can-remember-coming-downstairs-before-school-every-day-and-my-mom/) [Mike Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-fisher/) > [I have fallen in love with you my angel. I sought nothing of you but only to see that dazzling smile of yours once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-el-hallab/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-you-my-angel-i-sought-nothing-of-you-but/) [Mahmoud El Hallab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-el-hallab/) > [The discipline of daily devotion to God undergirds decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/the-discipline-of-daily-devotion-to-god-undergirds-decisions/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [I’d never known it was possible to love as he did— with complete devotion yet devoid of promises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/i-d-never-known-it-was-possible-to-love-as-he-did-with-complete/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvelous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we, ourselves, do not know...It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/every-holy-mass-heard-with-devotion-produces-in-our-souls-marvelous/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Daily simple, sincere, and mighty prayers lift our lives to a higher spiritual altitude. In our prayers we praise God, give thanks to Him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/daily-simple-sincere-and-mighty-prayers-lift-our-lives-to-a-higher/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [True love is like religion. It is full of devotion and free of doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/true-love-is-like-religion-it-is-full-of-devotion-and-free-of-doubt/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/never-despise-a-drink-because-it-is-easy-to-make-and-or-uses/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“It didn’t break the trance. 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They like to imagine tense conversations going on behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-aaronovitch/the-general-public-have-a-warped-view-of-the-speed-at-which-an/) [Ben Aaronovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-aaronovitch/) [Browse all 1,481 Devotion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devotion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of kindness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emanuel Swedenborg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and-in-external-devotion-but-in-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Devotion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and-in-external-devotion-but-in-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/emanuel-swedenborg-3577_devotion_worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and_613884.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/emanuel-swedenborg-3577_devotion_worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and_613884.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/emanuel-swedenborg-3577_devotion_worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and_613884.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of kindness.” — Emanuel Swedenborg", "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": "Emanuel Swedenborg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Worship does not consist in prayers...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and-in-external-devotion-but-in-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/worship-does-not-consist-in-prayers-and-in-external-devotion-but-in-a/#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 } } ] } ```