--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I…" description: "\"I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/mary-oliver-570_attention_i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i_825879.jpg" --- # I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to… ![“I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything…” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/mary-oliver-570_attention_i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i_825879.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/mary-oliver-570_attention_i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i_825879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/mary-oliver-570_attention_i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i_825879.jpg) > “I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating existence through simple, sensory experiences and questioning life's purpose. **In simple terms:** Reflect on daily moments and life's meaning. Key Takeaway Live mindfully and pursue purpose. Themes nature existence mindfulness purpose Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - morning walks - gardening - meditation - creative writing Key Concepts Transcendentalism spiritual inquiry ecology Questions to Reflect On - What daily ritual grounds you? - How do you define a precious life? A Different Perspective May over‑analysis hinder appreciation of simple joys. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessed/) [Falling down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-down/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Precious life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precious-life/) ## Related quotes > [I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i-do-know-how-to-pay-attention-3/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i-do-know-how-to-pay-attention/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Her family held strongly that for daughters to read in the daytime was to be idle. Well, if it was, thought Ingeborg lifting her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/her-family-held-strongly-that-for-daughters-to-read-in-the-daytime/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? When it's over, I want to say: all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/tell-me-what-it-is-you-plan-to-do-with-your-one-wild-and-precious/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Who do you want to be in your one wild and precious life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/who-do-you-want-to-be-in-your-one-wild-and-precious-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/tell-me-what-is-it-you-plan-to-do-with-your-one-wild-and-precious-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/tell-me-what-else-should-i-have-done-doesn-t-everything-die-at-last/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [I wanted the past to go away, I wanted to leave it, like another country; I wanted my life to close, and open like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-wanted-the-past-to-go-away-i-wanted-to-leave-it-like-another/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Oh, let us rely more upon prayer! Do we not know that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him (Heb. 11:6)?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknown-christian/oh-let-us-rely-more-upon-prayer-do-we-not-know-that-he-is-a-rewarder/) Unknown Christian > [A wise woman once said that every morning when you wake up you say a little prayer. After all, you never know what your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gossip-girl/a-wise-woman-once-said-that-every-morning-when-you-wake-up-you-say-a/) [Gossip Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gossip-girl/) > [“The prayer we know as “The Lord’s Prayer” came from the Lord Jesus in direct response to His disciples’ request: “Lord, teach us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/the-prayer-we-know-as-the-lord-s-prayer-came-from-the-lord-jesus-in/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [The primary purpose of prayer is not to get something, but to know Someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/the-primary-purpose-of-prayer-is-not-to-get-something-but-to-know/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [My hope and prayer is that everyone know and love our country for what she really is and what she stands for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/my-hope-and-prayer-is-that-everyone-know-and-love-our-country-for/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [Prayer changes things. Prayer changes us. Prayer changes life. Sometimes an event has been manifested that needs to be stopped, midair. Don't pray just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/prayer-changes-things-prayer-changes-us-prayer-changes-life-sometimes/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [“My love for you is a prayer, she thought. Love is the only prayer I know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/my-love-for-you-is-a-prayer-she-thought-love-is-the-only-prayer-i-know/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) ## More by Mary Oliver > [Belief isn't always easy. But this much I have learned--- if not enough else--- to live with my eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/belief-isn-t-always-easy-but-this-much-i-have-learned-if-not-enough/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love and the ability to question. Which are, at the same time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/in-this-universe-we-are-given-two-gifts-the-ability-to-love-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Poetry is one of the original arts, and it began, as did all the fine arts, within the original wilderness of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-one-of-the-original-arts-and-it-began-as-did-all-the-fine/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The dream of my life is to lie down by a slow river and stare at the light in the trees - to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-dream-of-my-life-is-to-lie-down-by-a-slow-river-and-stare-at-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/tell-me-what-is-it-you-plan-to-do-with-your-one-wild-and-precious-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“All important ideas must include the trees, the mountains, and the rivers. • To understand many things you must reach out of your own condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/all-important-ideas-must-include-the-trees-the-mountains-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Sometimes I think, were I just a little rougher made, I would go altogether to the woods—to my work entirely, and solitude, a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/sometimes-i-think-were-i-just-a-little-rougher-made-i-would-go/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“First Snow The snow began here this morning and all day continued, its white rhetoric everywhere calling us back to why, how, whence such beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/first-snow-the-snow-began-here-this-morning-and-all-day-continued-its/) [mary oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“What can I say that I have not said before? So I’ll say it again. The leaf has a song in it. Stone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-can-i-say-that-i-have-not-said-before-so-i-ll-say-it-again-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The sea is the most beautiful face in our universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-sea-is-the-most-beautiful-face-in-our-universe/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [There is nothing better than work. Work is also play; children know that. Children play earnestly as if it were work. But people grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/there-is-nothing-better-than-work-work-is-also-play-children-know/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“What will you do with your one precious, wild life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-will-you-do-with-your-one-precious-wild-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-a-life-cherishing-force-for-poems-are-not-words-after-all/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“I stood like Adam in his lonely garden On that first morning, shaken out of sleep, Rubbing his eyes, listening, parting the leaves, Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-stood-like-adam-in-his-lonely-garden-on-that-first-morning-shaken/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [We all have a hungry heart, and one of the things we hunger for is happiness. So as much as I possibly could, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/we-all-have-a-hungry-heart-and-one-of-the-things-we-hunger-for-is/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) [Explore all 470 Mary Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. 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They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. 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Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't know exactly what a prayer is. 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