--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most powerful movement of feeling…" description: "\"The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from the limitations of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/george-eliot-84_desire_the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-wi_9910.png" --- # The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is… ![“The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from the limitations of our own weakness and an invocation of all Good to enter and abide with us.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/george-eliot-84_desire_the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-wi_9910.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/george-eliot-84_desire_the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-wi_9910.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/george-eliot-84_desire_the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-wi_9910.png) > “The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from the limitations of our own weakness and an invocation of all Good to enter and abide with us.” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A prayer that transcends personal desire, aiming to dissolve personal limitations and invite universal goodness to dwell within us. **In simple terms:** Self‑transcendence through prayer Key Takeaway Seek unity with the divine beyond self‑interest Themes spirituality humility transcendence community inner growth Mood reverent hopeful introspective Type philosophical spiritual reflective When to use this quote - personal meditation - group worship - times of crisis - spiritual retreat - daily reflection Key Concepts prayer limitation invocation goodness Practical Applications - spiritual counseling - interfaith dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How does letting go of personal expectations deepen spiritual experience? - What practices help invite a sense of universal goodness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Invocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invocation/) [Limitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitation/) [Liturgy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liturgy/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) [Yearning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yearning/) ## Related quotes > [“The child destined to be a writer is vulnerable to every wind that blows. Now warm, now chill, next joyous, then despairing, the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/the-child-destined-to-be-a-writer-is-vulnerable-to-every-wind-that/) [Daphne Du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“The author chuckles at the resistance to using a prepared, written liturgy in prayer. He compares it to being unwilling to dress in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-author-chuckles-at-the-resistance-to-using-a-prepared-written/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The Liturgy itself is prayer; the confession of faith finds its proper place in the celebration of worship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-catholic-church/the-liturgy-itself-is-prayer-the-confession-of-faith-finds-its-proper/) [The Catholic Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-catholic-church/) > [ \[Naaman\] dipped himself," it says, "seven times in Jordan." It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/naaman-dipped-himself-it-says-seven-times-in-jordan-it-was-not-for/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [Your body does not eliminate poisons by knowing their names. To try to control fear or depression or boredom by calling them names is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-body-does-not-eliminate-poisons-by-knowing-their-names-to-try-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love performing outside because it's as if the heavens are open and the elements become part of the stage show as well -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/i-love-performing-outside-because-it-s-as-if-the-heavens-are-open-and/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [Invoking the letters of God's Name without presence of mind is invocation of the tongue; invoking with presence of mind is invocation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-ata-allah/invoking-the-letters-of-god-s-name-without-presence-of-mind-is/) [Ibn Ata Allah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-ata-allah/) > [“I can see better when i close my eyes; don't make much ado, that's my latest style of view.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/i-can-see-better-when-i-close-my-eyes-don-t-make-much-ado-that-s-my/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [The habit of ubiquitous interventionism, combining pinprick strikes by precision weapons with pious invocations of high principle, would lead us into endless difficulties. Interventions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/the-habit-of-ubiquitous-interventionism-combining-pinprick-strikes-by/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [By means of Invocation, the being awakens, and awakening becomes fullness. By means of balancing, fullness becomes internal wholeness. By virtue of exteriorized attention,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-truman/by-means-of-invocation-the-being-awakens-and-awakening-becomes/) [David Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-truman/) > [ ...Nixon's subversion \[of the consititution\] consisted of: One presidental lie; one invocation of presidental privilege, and zero criminal offences. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/nixon-s-subversion-of-the-consititution-consisted-of-one-presidental/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Magic and art tend to share a lot of the same language. They both talk about evocation, invocation, and conjuring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/magic-and-art-tend-to-share-a-lot-of-the-same-language-they-both-talk/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Magick may be no more than the willful invocation of awe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitl-n-r-kiernan/magick-may-be-no-more-than-the-willful-invocation-of-awe/) [Caitlín R. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitl-n-r-kiernan/) > [People read a lot of stories about witches, fairies, paranormals, and children possessed by evil spirits. They go to films showing rituals featuring pentagrams,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-read-a-lot-of-stories-about-witches-fairies-paranormals-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/sing-in-me-muse-and-through-me-tell-the-story-of-that-man-skilled-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. What do we live for if not to make the world less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/wear-a-smile-and-have-friends-wear-a-scowl-and-have-wrinkles-what-do/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from the limitations of our own weakness and an invocation of all Good to enter and abide with us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/george-eliot-84_desire_the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-wi_9910.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/george-eliot-84_desire_the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-wi_9910.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/george-eliot-84_desire_the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-wi_9910.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a…” — George Eliot", "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": "George Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The most powerful movement of feeling...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/#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 } } ] } ```