--- 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.\" — Mary Oliver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/mary-oliver-570_attention_i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i_3165846.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.” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/mary-oliver-570_attention_i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i_3165846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/mary-oliver-570_attention_i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i_3165846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/mary-oliver-570_attention_i-don-t-know-exactly-what-a-prayer-is-i_3165846.jpg) > “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/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attention is the essence of prayer, not specific words or rituals. **In simple terms:** Prayer is about being present. Key Takeaway Practice mindful listening. Themes mindfulness spirituality presence Mood calm reflective Type poetic spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - daily reflection - listening to others - stress relief Key Concepts consciousness attention Questions to Reflect On - How does attention shape your sense of the sacred? - What does prayer mean to you beyond words? A Different Perspective Attention alone may not satisfy deeper existential needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Precious life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precious-life/) [Summer days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-days/) ## Related quotes > [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-2/) [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/) > [I've realized how precious life is. 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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? 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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. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. 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Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. 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