--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, pray if you like, only you'd do…" description: "\"Well, pray if you like, only you'd do better to use your judgment.\" — Leo Tolstoy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/leo-tolstoy-55_judgment_well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-bett_2576769.png" --- # Well, pray if you like, only you'd do better to use your… ![“Well, pray if you like, only you'd do better to use your judgment.” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/leo-tolstoy-55_judgment_well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-bett_2576769.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/leo-tolstoy-55_judgment_well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-bett_2576769.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/leo-tolstoy-55_judgment_well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-bett_2576769.png) > “Well, pray if you like, only you'd do better to use your judgment.” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relying on prayer alone is insufficient; judgment and personal effort are essential. **In simple terms:** Prayer without judgment is inadequate. Key Takeaway Combine faith with reasoned decision‑making. Themes spirituality judgment personal responsibility Mood thoughtful balanced Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - daily decisions - ethical dilemmas - personal growth Key Concepts faith critical thinking agency Questions to Reflect On - How does personal judgment complement belief? - When is prayer insufficient? A Different Perspective Blind faith can lead to passivity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Pray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pray/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Rationality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationality/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [The battle for our lives, and the lives and souls of our children, our husbands, our friends, our families, our neighbors, and our nation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stormie-omartian/the-battle-for-our-lives-and-the-lives-and-souls-of-our-children-our/) [Stormie Omartian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stormie-omartian/) > [Most of us wait until we're in trouble, and then we pray like the dickens. Wonder what would happen if, some morning, we'd wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/most-of-us-wait-until-we-re-in-trouble-and-then-we-pray-like-the/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [Pray like it all depends on God, Work like it all depends on you..!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/pray-like-it-all-depends-on-god-work-like-it-all-depends-on-you/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [You have to use your judgment. In cases like that, we say, 'let's be simple minded. We know this is a feature that's good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/you-have-to-use-your-judgment-in-cases-like-that-we-say-let-s-be/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [I notice increasing reluctance on the part of marketing executives to use judgment; they are coming to rely too much on research, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-notice-increasing-reluctance-on-the-part-of-marketing-executives-to-2/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I notice increasing reluctance on the part of marketing executives to use judgment; they are coming to rely too much on research, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-notice-increasing-reluctance-on-the-part-of-marketing-executives-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [You're not going to please everybody. I've just got to do whatever I feel is right, just use my judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-griffin/you-re-not-going-to-please-everybody-i-ve-just-got-to-do-whatever-i/) [Blake Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-griffin/) > [We should use our judgment before coming to a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/we-should-use-our-judgment-before-coming-to-a-decision/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“You have been educated in judgment, which is the essence of worship. Judgment always occurs in the past. It is past-thinking. Will, free or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/you-have-been-educated-in-judgment-which-is-the-essence-of-worship/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [My role in the business is to use my judgment. All these years of experience have given me a clear head, and I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-nadar/my-role-in-the-business-is-to-use-my-judgment-all-these-years-of/) [Shiv Nadar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-nadar/) > [I understood, not with my intellect but with my whole being, that no theories of the rationality of existence or of progress could justify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-understood-not-with-my-intellect-but-with-my-whole-being-that-no/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“We know that to become a Christian we shouldn’t try to fix ourselves up, but when it comes to praying we completely forget that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-miller/we-know-that-to-become-a-christian-we-shouldn-t-try-to-fix-ourselves/) [Paul Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-miller/) > [Prayer makes a godly man, and puts within him "the mind of Christ," the mind of humility, of self-surrender, of service, of pity, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/prayer-makes-a-godly-man-and-puts-within-him-the-mind-of-christ-the/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [“It's the most essential thing of all just because it's not a matter of how you do it at all, but of whether you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/it-s-the-most-essential-thing-of-all-just-because-it-s-not-a-matter/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“9 “Therefore, you should pray like this:  Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy.  10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/9-therefore-you-should-pray-like-this-our-father-in-heaven-your-name/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Judgment quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [Pain results from a judgment you have made about a thing. Remove the judgment and the pain disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/pain-results-from-a-judgment-you-have-made-about-a-thing-remove-the/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“The absence of judgment becomes a catalyst and an enabler for greater injustice. Contrary to popular thought, judgment is a GOOD thing when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-chace-gordon/the-absence-of-judgment-becomes-a-catalyst-and-an-enabler-for-greater/) [J. Chace Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-chace-gordon/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Dont judge me by my hair, my skin colour, my body size, or my outer beauty. Because if you do, you might miss who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dont-judge-me-by-my-hair-my-skin-colour-my-body-size-or-my-outer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“Do not judge, so that you won't be judged. 2 For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-judge-so-that-you-won-t-be-judged-2-for-with-the-judgment-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It isn't bad judgment to make a man believe he is something. He is by nature inclined to it, and a little encouragement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-langley-bosher/it-isn-t-bad-judgment-to-make-a-man-believe-he-is-something-he-is-by/) [Kate Langley Bosher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-langley-bosher/) > [A hard heart makes for hard judgments; a compassionate heart understands the humanity of the one we presume to judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/a-hard-heart-makes-for-hard-judgments-a-compassionate-heart/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Love's mind of judgment rarely hath a taste: Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-s-mind-of-judgment-rarely-hath-a-taste-wings-and-no-eyes-figure/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [More exposure leads to more judgment and negativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/more-exposure-leads-to-more-judgment-and-negativity/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) > [Laugh at every mistakes and realize that no one is perfect. We are human. All of us are imperfect, so there's no point judging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/laugh-at-every-mistakes-and-realize-that-no-one-is-perfect-we-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody who is an entrepreneur is a person who essentially has impaired judgment. The odds of success are zilch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/anybody-who-is-an-entrepreneur-is-a-person-who-essentially-has/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Nobody wants to see someone's life ruined over a small-time lapse in judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-baker/nobody-wants-to-see-someone-s-life-ruined-over-a-small-time-lapse-in/) [Charlie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-baker/) [Browse all 3,488 Judgment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Well, pray if you like, only you'd do better to use your judgment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Tolstoy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-better-to-use-your-judgment/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Judgment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-better-to-use-your-judgment/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/leo-tolstoy-55_judgment_well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-bett_2576769.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/leo-tolstoy-55_judgment_well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-bett_2576769.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/leo-tolstoy-55_judgment_well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-bett_2576769.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Well, pray if you like, only you'd do better to use your judgment.” — Leo Tolstoy", "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": "Leo Tolstoy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Well, pray if you like, only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-better-to-use-your-judgment/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/well-pray-if-you-like-only-you-d-do-better-to-use-your-judgment/#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 } } ] } ```