--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It wasn't likely I would die. Dave didn't…" description: "\"“It wasn't likely I would die. Dave didn't know that then. Prayer isn't about likelihood anyway, it's about desire-- loving someone enough to get on yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/leslie-jamison-8628_quote_it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t_1702404.jpg" --- # It wasn't likely I would die. Dave didn't know that then… ![“It wasn't likely I would die. Dave didn't know that then. Prayer isn't about likelihood anyway, it's about desire-- loving someone enough to get on your knees and ask for her to be saved. When he cried in that chapel, it wasn't empathy-- it was something else. His kneeling wasn't a way to feel to…” quote by Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/leslie-jamison-8628_quote_it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t_1702404.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/leslie-jamison-8628_quote_it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t_1702404.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/leslie-jamison-8628_quote_it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t_1702404.jpg) > ““It wasn't likely I would die. Dave didn't know that then. Prayer isn't about likelihood anyway, it's about desire-- loving someone enough to get on your knees and ask for her to be saved. When he cried in that chapel, it wasn't empathy-- it was something else. His kneeling wasn't a way to feel to my pain but to request that it end. - p19”” [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prayer is less about predicting outcomes and more about expressing deep desire for another's wellbeing, even when empathy is absent. **In simple terms:** Prayer is desire, not logic. Key Takeaway Focus on heartfelt intention. Themes faith desire empathy spirituality Mood reflective introspective Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - spiritual practice - supporting others Key Concepts intention selfless love psychology of prayer Questions to Reflect On - What does prayer mean to you? - How does desire differ from empathy? A Different Perspective Prayer may not change outcomes, only personal coping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Prayer isn't an excuse to sin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-bailey/prayer-isn-t-an-excuse-to-sin/) [Tessa Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-bailey/) > [“But I've noticed, too, that prayer for some other people is less like a spare tire and more like a road map. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/but-i-ve-noticed-too-that-prayer-for-some-other-people-is-less-like-a/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [“I don’t believe in the power of prayer. I believe in the power and presence of God, so I pray.” He adds, “We know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rbc-ministries/i-don-t-believe-in-the-power-of-prayer-i-believe-in-the-power-and/) [RBC Ministries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rbc-ministries/) > [Never waste a prayer on something that isn't important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-goodman/never-waste-a-prayer-on-something-that-isn-t-important/) Oscar Goodman > [Prayer isn't where we change God, but He changes us. Instead of praying for OUR desires, let's pray He burden us with HIS.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/prayer-isn-t-where-we-change-god-but-he-changes-us-instead-of-praying/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“You do need prayer, more than you know, ' Carita said softly. 'Prayer is the keynote. Prayer isn't the preparation to accomplish the purposes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-mathews/you-do-need-prayer-more-than-you-know-carita-said-softly-prayer-is/) [Erika Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-mathews/) > [“Prayer is meant to be preventative more than remedial. We usually treat prayer as remedial, meaning we pray when we have a need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/prayer-is-meant-to-be-preventative-more-than-remedial-we-usually/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“Prayer isn’t just about asking for things. It’s taking time to hear what God is saying, too, just like any good conversation. Once we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-austin/prayer-isn-t-just-about-asking-for-things-it-s-taking-time-to-hear/) [Lynn Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-austin/) > [Prayer isn't to remind God of what our problems are, but to remind our problems who God is!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-isn-t-to-remind-god-of-what-our-problems-are-but-to-remind-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Prayer is an investment. The time you dedicate to prayer isn't lost; it will return dividends far greater than what a few moments spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/prayer-is-an-investment-the-time-you-dedicate-to-prayer-isn-t-lost-it/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [Remember that you are more likely to die because you execute badly than get crushed by a competitor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/remember-that-you-are-more-likely-to-die-because-you-execute-badly/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [“You are 14% more likely to die on your birthday than any other day. 51”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/you-are-14-more-likely-to-die-on-your-birthday-than-any-other-day-51/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [It is likely I will die next to a pile of things I was meaning to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-likely-i-will-die-next-to-a-pile-of-things-i-was-meaning-to-read/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When men do not run they are likely to die prematurely from dysfunction of the heart and vascular systems or from disabling chronic disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-shepard/when-men-do-not-run-they-are-likely-to-die-prematurely-from/) [Paul Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-shepard/) > [“If Doc can’t let it go, you can always remind him that statistically a human is more likely to die from a hospital error…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-hough/if-doc-can-t-let-it-go-you-can-always-remind-him-that-statistically-a/) [David L. Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-hough/) ## More by Leslie Jamison > [When people ask what kind of nonfiction I write, I say 'all kinds,' but really I mean I don’t write any kind at all:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/when-people-ask-what-kind-of-nonfiction-i-write-i-say-all-kinds-but/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [It's one of the most liberating things I experience in writing - letting yourself get rid of a gesture or character or plot point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-s-one-of-the-most-liberating-things-i-experience-in-writing/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [The pain is what you make of it. You have to find something in it that yields. I understood my guiding imperative as: keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/the-pain-is-what-you-make-of-it-you-have-to-find-something-in-it-that/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I needed people to deliver my feelings back to me in a form that was legible. Which is a superlative kind of empathy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-needed-people-to-deliver-my-feelings-back-to-me-in-a-form-that-was/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [In my own life as a reader I experience real moments of alienation when a writer feels too perfect, or like even the flaws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/in-my-own-life-as-a-reader-i-experience-real-moments-of-alienation/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I'm happy not knowing. Most of the time (except when I'm a neurotic mess about uncertainty) I feel glad that the horizon is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-m-happy-not-knowing-most-of-the-time-except-when-i-m-a-neurotic/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I do like arranging things. I like order. I basically like all these things that are the opposite of what people associate with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-do-like-arranging-things-i-like-order-i-basically-like-all-these/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I used to believe that hurting would make you more alive to the hurting of others. I used to believe in feeling bad because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-used-to-believe-that-hurting-would-make-you-more-alive-to-the/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Whatever we can’t hold, we hang on a hook that will hold it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/whatever-we-can-t-hold-we-hang-on-a-hook-that-will-hold-it/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“I obsessed, and told myself this obsession was empathy. But it wasn't, quite. It was more like inpathy. I wasn't expatriating myself into another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-obsessed-and-told-myself-this-obsession-was-empathy-but-it-wasn-t/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Post-wounded women know that postures of pain play into limited and outmoded conceptions of womanhood. Their hurt has a new native language spoken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/post-wounded-women-know-that-postures-of-pain-play-into-limited-and/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [12-step recovery is very focused on abstinence, and that's bled into the broader understanding of treatment. It would be most useful to have multiple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/12-step-recovery-is-very-focused-on-abstinence-and-that-s-bled-into/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [We don't want to be wounds ("No, you're the wound!") but we should be allowed to have them, to speak about having them, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/we-don-t-want-to-be-wounds-no-you-re-the-wound-but-we-should-be/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy means realizing no trauma has discrete edges. Trauma bleeds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-means-realizing-no-trauma-has-discrete-edges-trauma-bleeds/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy isn't just listening, it's asking the questions whose answers need to be listened to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-isn-t-just-listening-it-s-asking-the-questions-whose-answers/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) [Explore all 79 Leslie Jamison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## More Likely Die quotes > [“If Doc can’t let it go, you can always remind him that statistically a human is more likely to die from a hospital error…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-hough/if-doc-can-t-let-it-go-you-can-always-remind-him-that-statistically-a/) [David L. Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-hough/) > [When men do not run they are likely to die prematurely from dysfunction of the heart and vascular systems or from disabling chronic disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-shepard/when-men-do-not-run-they-are-likely-to-die-prematurely-from/) [Paul Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-shepard/) > [It is likely I will die next to a pile of things I was meaning to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-likely-i-will-die-next-to-a-pile-of-things-i-was-meaning-to-read/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You are 14% more likely to die on your birthday than any other day. 51”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/you-are-14-more-likely-to-die-on-your-birthday-than-any-other-day-51/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [Remember that you are more likely to die because you execute badly than get crushed by a competitor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/remember-that-you-are-more-likely-to-die-because-you-execute-badly/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [People who go to the polar regions are statistically less likely to die than salesmen who drive on motorways in England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranulph-fiennes/people-who-go-to-the-polar-regions-are-statistically-less-likely-to/) [Ranulph Fiennes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranulph-fiennes/) > [“In other words, people who had substantive discussions with their doctor about their end-of-life preferences were far more likely to die at peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/in-other-words-people-who-had-substantive-discussions-with-their/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“You’re a time bomb, Orion.” “You’re going to explode and kill everything around you.” “I can handle myself.” “And my friends aren’t likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rea-lidde/you-re-a-time-bomb-orion-you-re-going-to-explode-and-kill-everything/) Rea Lidde > [A human being is still more likely to die of a bee sting, snake bite or, Lord knows, automobile accident than by shark attack.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/a-human-being-is-still-more-likely-to-die-of-a-bee-sting-snake-bite/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-the-first-time-in-history-more-people-die-today-from-eating-too/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“A good rule of thumb was that the more noise someone was making the less likely they were to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/a-good-rule-of-thumb-was-that-the-more-noise-someone-was-making-the/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I'm twice as likely to be excluded from school, twice as likely to be arrested and five times as likely to die in childbirth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-love/i-m-twice-as-likely-to-be-excluded-from-school-twice-as-likely-to-be/) [Judi Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-love/) > [“It is most likely that I will die next to a pile of books I was meaning to read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/it-is-most-likely-that-i-will-die-next-to-a-pile-of-books-i-was/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [My mother raised me very clearly that if you cross the street, you will die. If you go outside, you will die. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/my-mother-raised-me-very-clearly-that-if-you-cross-the-street-you/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [“Results of the 20-year follow-up study show that people with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea were four times more likely to die (hazard”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/results-of-the-20-year-follow-up-study-show-that-people-with-moderate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 19 Likely Die quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It wasn't likely I would die. Dave didn't know that then. Prayer isn't about likelihood anyway, it's about desire-- loving someone enough to get on your knees and ask for her to be saved. When he cried in that chapel, it wasn't empathy-- it was something else. His kneeling wasn't a way to feel to my pain but to request that it end. - p19”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leslie Jamison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t-know-that-then-prayer-isn-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Likely Die" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t-know-that-then-prayer-isn-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/leslie-jamison-8628_quote_it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t_1702404.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/leslie-jamison-8628_quote_it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t_1702404.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/leslie-jamison-8628_quote_it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t_1702404.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It wasn't likely I would die. Dave didn't know that then. Prayer isn't about likelihood anyway, it's about…” — Leslie Jamison", "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": "Leslie Jamison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It wasn't likely I would die....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t-know-that-then-prayer-isn-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-wasn-t-likely-i-would-die-dave-didn-t-know-that-then-prayer-isn-t/#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 } } ] } ```