--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Augustine wrote that God sometimes does…" description: "\"“Augustine wrote that God sometimes does not give us what we ask in prayer. \"Of His bounty, the Lord often grants not what we seek, so as to bestow som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/lauren-f-winner-18725_answers-to-prayer_augustine-wrote-that-god-sometimes-does_2078629.jpg" --- # Augustine wrote that God sometimes does not give us what… ![“Augustine wrote that God sometimes does not give us what we ask in prayer. "Of His bounty, the Lord often grants not what we seek, so as to bestow something preferable.” quote by Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/lauren-f-winner-18725_answers-to-prayer_augustine-wrote-that-god-sometimes-does_2078629.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/lauren-f-winner-18725_answers-to-prayer_augustine-wrote-that-god-sometimes-does_2078629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/lauren-f-winner-18725_answers-to-prayer_augustine-wrote-that-god-sometimes-does_2078629.jpg) > ““Augustine wrote that God sometimes does not give us what we ask in prayer. "Of His bounty, the Lord often grants not what we seek, so as to bestow something preferable.”” [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Divine wisdom may with our prayers, offering better outcomes instead. **In simple terms:** God gives better gifts. Key Takeaway Trust unseen blessings. Themes faith theology hope Mood hopeful contemplative Type theological inspirational When to use this quote - Prayer - personal setbacks - life decisions Key Concepts Divine providence spiritual growth Questions to Reflect On - How do you interpret unanswered prayers? - What might be a preferable outcome? A Different Perspective Interpretations vary across traditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers to prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers-to-prayer/) [Ask Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-prayer-308733/) [Augustine Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/augustine-wrote-942883/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayer Bounty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer-bounty-4048051/) [Wrote God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-god-1168545/) ## Related quotes > [Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whatever-you-ask-in-prayer-believe-that-you-have-received-it-and-it/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“And I understood that I ought not ask for a prayer language until I could ask without making it the test of my entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/and-i-understood-that-i-ought-not-ask-for-a-prayer-language-until-i/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [St. Augustine wrote that basically it is not possible to understand what was being described in Genesis. It was not intended as a science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/st-augustine-wrote-that-basically-it-is-not-possible-to-understand/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“St. Augustine wrote something once, something I think about often,” he said. “ ‘God triumphs on the ruins of our plans.’ And maybe that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/st-augustine-wrote-something-once-something-i-think-about-often-he/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Augustine wrote that humility is the source of all virtue, and pride the root of all evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-starr/augustine-wrote-that-humility-is-the-source-of-all-virtue-and-pride/) [Mel Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-starr/) > [“When I wrote of the women in their dances and wildness, it was a mask. on their mountain, god-hunting, singing, in orgy, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-rukeyser/when-i-wrote-of-the-women-in-their-dances-and-wildness-it-was-a-mask/) [Muriel Rukeyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-rukeyser/) > [Only God and I knew what I meant when I wrote it, now only God knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/only-god-and-i-knew-what-i-meant-when-i-wrote-it-now-only-god-knows/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The biblical authors wrote of God's sovereignty over His world, and of man's experiences within that world, using such modes of speech about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/the-biblical-authors-wrote-of-god-s-sovereignty-over-his-world-and-of/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [“C. S. Lewis wrote that if there is a God, we certainly don’t relate to him as people on the first floor of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/c-s-lewis-wrote-that-if-there-is-a-god-we-certainly-don-t-relate-to/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Before I wrote 'God's War,' I probably did eight years of research into the Middle East, Judaism, Islam, Catholicisim, and all sorts of fabulous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/before-i-wrote-god-s-war-i-probably-did-eight-years-of-research-into/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [I simply taught, preached, wrote God's Word: otherwise I did nothing. The Word of God did it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/i-simply-taught-preached-wrote-god-s-word-otherwise-i-did-nothing-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [ “\[Samantha Dunn\] wrote that when God wants your attention, first He throws feathers. After that, He starts throwing bricks.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-fontaine/samantha-dunn-wrote-that-when-god-wants-your-attention-first-he/) [Claire Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-fontaine/) > [To me, God is the basic Reality of the universe. God is what is. That's how Moses wrote that God introduced Himself, isn't it?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/to-me-god-is-the-basic-reality-of-the-universe-god-is-what-is-that-s/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > ['An Obedient Father' is perhaps the novel that, some might say, Arundhati Roy had wanted to write when she wrote 'The God of Small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/an-obedient-father-is-perhaps-the-novel-that-some-might-say-arundhati/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [The only way to Heaven is prayer; a prayer of the heart, which every one is capable of, and not of reasonings which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/the-only-way-to-heaven-is-prayer-a-prayer-of-the-heart-which-every/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) ## More by Lauren F. Winner > [There are a few people out there with whom you fit just so, and, amazingly, you keep fitting just so even after you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/there-are-a-few-people-out-there-with-whom-you-fit-just-so-and/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [In observing the Sabbath, one is both giving a gift to God and imitating Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/in-observing-the-sabbath-one-is-both-giving-a-gift-to-god-and/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [“This is how sin works: it whispers to us about the goodness of something not good. It makes distortions feel good. It tells us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/this-is-how-sin-works-it-whispers-to-us-about-the-goodness-of/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [Some days I am not sure if my faith is riddled with doubt, or whether, graciously, my doubt is riddled with faith. And yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/some-days-i-am-not-sure-if-my-faith-is-riddled-with-doubt-or-whether/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [Some days I am not sure if my faith is riddled with doubt or whether, graciously, my doubt is riddled with faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/some-days-i-am-not-sure-if-my-faith-is-riddled-with-doubt-or-whether-2/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [“The change, I think, that conversion gradually effects on your heart is this: you come, over some stretched-out time, to want to do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/the-change-i-think-that-conversion-gradually-effects-on-your-heart-is/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [“...but that is how the clues God leaves sometimes work. Sometimes nothing comes of them. Sometimes, as in a great novel, you cannot see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/but-that-is-how-the-clues-god-leaves-sometimes-work-sometimes-nothing/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [“No, no, I'm not one of them. I'm one of you. I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, but I also wear fishnet stockings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/no-no-i-m-not-one-of-them-i-m-one-of-you-i-believe-that-jesus-christ/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [“Here is the thing about God. He is so big and so perfect that we can't really understand Him. We can't possess Him, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/here-is-the-thing-about-god-he-is-so-big-and-so-perfect-that-we-can-t/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [“People think Judaism and Christianity are radically different from one another, and that the difference is straightforward. But on Ascension Day, I am struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/people-think-judaism-and-christianity-are-radically-different-from/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [ “\[T\]hat finally is the questions, that is the anguish--to abide in God's hiddenness is one thing, to abide in God's absence is altogether something… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/t-hat-finally-is-the-questions-that-is-the-anguish-to-abide-in-god-s/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [God is a novelist. He uses all sorts of literary devices: alliteration, assonance, rhyme, synecdoche, onomatopoeia. But of all of these, His favorite is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/god-is-a-novelist-he-uses-all-sorts-of-literary-devices-alliteration/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [The only other person I have fallen in love with that way is Jesus, and I hope that goes more smoothly. I hope I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/the-only-other-person-i-have-fallen-in-love-with-that-way-is-jesus/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [“It is a great gift when God gives me a stirring, a feeling, a something-at-all in prayer. But work is being done whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/it-is-a-great-gift-when-god-gives-me-a-stirring-a-feeling-a-something/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [I am not a saint. I am, however, beginning to learn that I am a small character in a story that is always fundamentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/i-am-not-a-saint-i-am-however-beginning-to-learn-that-i-am-a-small/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) [Explore all 34 Lauren F. Winner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) ## More Answers to prayer quotes > [The only way to Heaven is prayer; a prayer of the heart, which every one is capable of, and not of reasonings which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/the-only-way-to-heaven-is-prayer-a-prayer-of-the-heart-which-every/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) > [The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-third-petition-of-the-lord-s-prayer-is-repeated-daily-by-millions/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [There is a general kind of praying which fails for lack of precision. It is as if a regiment of soldiers should all fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-is-a-general-kind-of-praying-which-fails-for-lack-of-precision/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [God will do nothing but in answer to prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/god-will-do-nothing-but-in-answer-to-prayer/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [By becoming the answer to someone's prayer, we often find the answer to our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/by-becoming-the-answer-to-someone-s-prayer-we-often-find-the-answer/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [I believe the old cliché, 'God helps those who help themselves,' is not only misleading but often dead wrong. My most spectacular answers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marshall/i-believe-the-old-clich-god-helps-those-who-help-themselves-is-not/) [Catherine Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marshall/) > [The firmament of the Bible is ablaze with answers to prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-l-cuyler/the-firmament-of-the-bible-is-ablaze-with-answers-to-prayer/) [Theodore L. Cuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-l-cuyler/) > [When a man has found the Lord, he no longer has to use words when he is praying, for the Spirit Himself will intercede…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-climacus/when-a-man-has-found-the-lord-he-no-longer-has-to-use-words-when-he/) [John Climacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-climacus/) > [I don't know of a single foreign product that enters this country untaxed, except the answer to prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-don-t-know-of-a-single-foreign-product-that-enters-this-country/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude - an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/prayer-is-not-so-much-an-act-as-it-is-an-attitude-an-attitude-of/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [The most glorious works of grace that have ever took place, have been in answer to prayer; and it is in this way, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carey/the-most-glorious-works-of-grace-that-have-ever-took-place-have-been/) [William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/) > [The story of every great Christian achievement is the history of answered prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/the-story-of-every-great-christian-achievement-is-the-history-of/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [There is a beauty bestowed in some degree on all God's saints who pray much which is of the same nature and is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stalker/there-is-a-beauty-bestowed-in-some-degree-on-all-god-s-saints-who/) [James Stalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stalker/) > [I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/i-have-so-much-to-do-that-i-spend-several-hours-in-prayer-before-i-am/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [You don't know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and as soon as you have said, 'Lord, I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josemaria-escriva/you-don-t-know-how-to-pray-put-yourself-in-the-presence-of-god-and-as/) [Josemaria Escriva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josemaria-escriva/) [Browse all 88 Answers to prayer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers-to-prayer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Augustine wrote that God sometimes does not give us what we ask in prayer. \"Of His bounty, the Lord often grants not what we seek, so as to bestow something preferable.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lauren F. 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