--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: True prayer is not a prelude to inaction." description: "\"True prayer is not a prelude to inaction.\" — Mahatma Gandhi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/mahatma-gandhi-23_inaction_true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction_2753710.jpg" --- # True prayer is not a prelude to inaction. ![“True prayer is not a prelude to inaction.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/mahatma-gandhi-23_inaction_true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction_2753710.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/mahatma-gandhi-23_inaction_true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction_2753710.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/mahatma-gandhi-23_inaction_true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction_2753710.jpg) > “True prayer is not a prelude to inaction.” [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prayer should inspire action, not replace it; faith is demonstrated through deeds. **In simple terms:** Prayer motivates deeds, not excuses. Key Takeaway Act on your convictions. Themes faith action responsibility Mood determined inspirational Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - social activism - personal goals - community service Key Concepts spirituality ethical behavior Questions to Reflect On - How do you turn belief into tangible effort? - What actions reflect your deepest values? A Different Perspective Prayer alone does not cause change; action is required. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inaction/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayer Prelude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer-prelude-3118362/) [Prelude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prelude/) [Prelude Inaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prelude-inaction-3118363/) [True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true/) [True Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-prayer/) ## Related quotes > [Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/healthy-discontent-is-the-prelude-to-progress/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [One has to speak out and stand up for one's convictions. Inaction at a time of conflagration is inexcusable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/one-has-to-speak-out-and-stand-up-for-one-s-convictions-inaction-at-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/true-prayer-is-a-way-of-life-not-just-for-use-in-cases-of-emergency/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The Word of God represents all the possibilities of God as at the disposal of true prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/the-word-of-god-represents-all-the-possibilities-of-god-as-at-the/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [...True prayer is measured by weight, not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/true-prayer-is-measured-by-weight-not-by-length-a-single-groan-before/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [True prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitude of our words; for our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/true-prayer-is-only-another-name-for-the-love-of-god-its-excellence/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [“True Prayer is the work of relationship, where He moves them from mere information about Him to a one-on-one experience with Him, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-wood/true-prayer-is-the-work-of-relationship-where-he-moves-them-from-mere/) [Geoffrey Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-wood/) > [True prayer is you sittin' having a conversation with God. Anybody can pray, anybody can pray. Just say in the name of Jesus this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madea/true-prayer-is-you-sittin-having-a-conversation-with-god-anybody-can/) [Madea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madea/) > [Every true prayer is a prayer of the Church; by means of that prayer the Church prays, since it is the Holy Spirit living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-stein/every-true-prayer-is-a-prayer-of-the-church-by-means-of-that-prayer/) [Edith Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-stein/) > [We need to learn to know Him so well that we feel safe when we have left our difficulties with Him. To know in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ole-hallesby/we-need-to-learn-to-know-him-so-well-that-we-feel-safe-when-we-have/) [Ole Hallesby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ole-hallesby/) > [True prayer is not asking God for love; it is learning to love, and to include all mankind in one affection. Prayer is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-baker-eddy/true-prayer-is-not-asking-god-for-love-it-is-learning-to-love-and-to/) [Mary Baker Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-baker-eddy/) > [True prayer is asking God what He wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/true-prayer-is-asking-god-what-he-wants/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [True prayer is done in secret, but this does not rule out the fellowship of prayer altogether, however clearly we may be aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/true-prayer-is-done-in-secret-but-this-does-not-rule-out-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“True prayer wants others to flourish. If any still have a hard time praying for church leaders, they might use a prayer that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martin/true-prayer-wants-others-to-flourish-if-any-still-have-a-hard-time/) [James Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martin/) > [If we really want to achieve true prayer, we must turn our backs upon everything temporal, everything external, everything that is not divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-tauler/if-we-really-want-to-achieve-true-prayer-we-must-turn-our-backs-upon/) [Johannes Tauler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-tauler/) ## More by Mahatma Gandhi > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [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/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More Inaction quotes > [It won't do you a bit of good to know everything if you don't do anything with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/it-won-t-do-you-a-bit-of-good-to-know-everything-if-you-don-t-do/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/climate-change-poses-clear-catastrophic-threats-we-may-not-agree-on/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [“One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagavad-gita/one-who-sees-inaction-in-action-and-action-in-inaction-is-intelligent/) [Bhagavad Gita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagavad-gita/) > [First, climate change is the greatest long-term threat faced by humanity. It could cause more human and financial suffering than the two world wars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-miliband/first-climate-change-is-the-greatest-long-term-threat-faced-by/) [David Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-miliband/) > [Politicians who lack the vision to lead the community on big issues like public transport often hide their inaction by blaming other levels of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-albanese/politicians-who-lack-the-vision-to-lead-the-community-on-big-issues/) [Anthony Albanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-albanese/) > [Acceptance does not mean inaction. We may need to respond, strongly at times...From a peaceful center we can respond instead of react. Unconscious reactions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/acceptance-does-not-mean-inaction-we-may-need-to-respond-strongly-at/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Fear creates its own self-fulfilling dynamic- as people give into it, they lose energy and momentum. Their lack of confidence translates into inaction that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/fear-creates-its-own-self-fulfilling-dynamic-as-people-give-into-it/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“It's when the 'international community' expresses 'concern' about your 'situation' that your situation is well and truly fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-weiss/it-s-when-the-international-community-expresses-concern-about-your/) [Michael D. Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-weiss/) > [If the politics of inaction and delay that have triumphed in this country continues for another decade, then Planetary Purgatory in the likely future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-romm/if-the-politics-of-inaction-and-delay-that-have-triumphed-in-this/) [Joseph J. Romm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-romm/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Do we pour $40 billion into grandiose Louisiana engineering projects or do we instead put up no trespassing- signs in the areas below sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-brinkley/do-we-pour-40-billion-into-grandiose-louisiana-engineering-projects/) [Douglas Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-brinkley/) > [In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-any-moment-of-decision-the-best-thing-you-can-do-is-the-right/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Heavy as they are, the costs of action must be weighed against the price of inaction. If Saddam defies the world and we fail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/heavy-as-they-are-the-costs-of-action-must-be-weighed-against-the/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [“The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-only-man-who-never-makes-mistakes-is-the-man-who-never-does/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) [Browse all 321 Inaction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inaction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "True prayer is not a prelude to inaction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahatma Gandhi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inaction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/mahatma-gandhi-23_inaction_true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction_2753710.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/mahatma-gandhi-23_inaction_true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction_2753710.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/mahatma-gandhi-23_inaction_true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction_2753710.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“True prayer is not a prelude to inaction.” — Mahatma Gandhi", "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": "Mahatma Gandhi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "True prayer is not a prelude...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/true-prayer-is-not-a-prelude-to-inaction/#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 } } ] } ```