--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The explanation is that prayer is not…" description: "\"The explanation is that prayer is not primarily God's way of getting things done. It is God's way of giving the church 'on the job training' in overcom..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/paul-billheimer-38433_church_the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-pr_684390.jpg" --- # The explanation is that prayer is not primarily God's way… ![“The explanation is that prayer is not primarily God's way of getting things done. It is God's way of giving the church 'on the job training' in overcoming the forces hostile to God.” quote by Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/paul-billheimer-38433_church_the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-pr_684390.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/paul-billheimer-38433_church_the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-pr_684390.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/paul-billheimer-38433_church_the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-pr_684390.jpg) > “The explanation is that prayer is not primarily God's way of getting things done. It is God's way of giving the church 'on the job training' in overcoming the forces hostile to God.” [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prayer serves as training for the church to confront opposition, not merely a request for divine intervention. **In simple terms:** Prayer trains believers to face opposition. Key Takeaway Use prayer as preparation, not just request. Themes faith spiritual discipline resilience Mood reflective inspirational Type theological motivational When to use this quote - church leadership - personal reflection - conflict resolution - spiritual growth Key Concepts theology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does prayer prepare you for challenges? - What practical steps complement spiritual training? A Different Perspective Training through prayer may not address practical skill gaps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Getting things done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-things-done/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Job training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job-training/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Overcoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) ## Related quotes > [“Prayer is not primarily saying words or thinking thoughts. It is, rather, a stance. It’s a way of living in the Presence, living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/prayer-is-not-primarily-saying-words-or-thinking-thoughts-it-is/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“True prayer has always been primarily concerned with gaining a spiritual rhythm for your life that will empty your heart and let you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-guyton/true-prayer-has-always-been-primarily-concerned-with-gaining-a/) [Morgan Guyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-guyton/) > [Life is war. That's not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/life-is-war-that-s-not-all-it-is-but-it-is-always-that-our-weakness/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Friend, the church finds its life as it listens to the Word of God. It finds its purpose as it lives out and displays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/friend-the-church-finds-its-life-as-it-listens-to-the-word-of-god-it/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [The church's job is to equip the saints for works of service in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/the-church-s-job-is-to-equip-the-saints-for-works-of-service-in-the/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [If churches saw their mission in the same way, there is no telling what might happen. What if people were invited to come tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/if-churches-saw-their-mission-in-the-same-way-there-is-no-telling/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [ \[The church's\] job is to provide permanent solace and spiritual leadership to the people as a whole, whatever their government at the moment, so… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/the-church-s-job-is-to-provide-permanent-solace-and-spiritual/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [This is the church's job. This is who we are as the body of Christ to reach out to people who are in need,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-chambers/this-is-the-church-s-job-this-is-who-we-are-as-the-body-of-christ-to/) [Alan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-chambers/) > [No man that has ever lived has done a thing to please God--primarily. It was done to please himself, then God next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/no-man-that-has-ever-lived-has-done-a-thing-to-please-god-primarily/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The conflict you’re having is not primarily about them; God is working in this conflict to reveal something about you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/the-conflict-you-re-having-is-not-primarily-about-them-god-is-working/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Love for yourself, love for the planet, love for each other. Love primarily for God - your number one relationship in life, your relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/love-for-yourself-love-for-the-planet-love-for-each-other-love/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [In doing one's work primarily for God, the fear of undue restriction is put, sooner or later, out of the question. He pays me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-king/in-doing-one-s-work-primarily-for-god-the-fear-of-undue-restriction/) [Basil King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-king/) > [“Prayer begins and ends not with the needs of man but with the glory of God (John 14:13). It should be concerned primarily with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-macarthur/prayer-begins-and-ends-not-with-the-needs-of-man-but-with-the-glory/) [John F. MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-macarthur/) > [“How is it then that we’ve come to imagine that Christianity consists primarily in what we do for God? How has this come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/how-is-it-then-that-we-ve-come-to-imagine-that-christianity-consists/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [Worship is an exercise of the Holy Spirit directed primarily to God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-martin/worship-is-an-exercise-of-the-holy-spirit-directed-primarily-to-god/) [Ralph Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-martin/) ## More by Paul Billheimer > [Surely that which occupies the total time and energies of heaven must be a fitting pattern for earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/surely-that-which-occupies-the-total-time-and-energies-of-heaven-must/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) > [When a church is truly convinced that prayer is where the action is, that church will so construct its corporate activities that the prayer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/when-a-church-is-truly-convinced-that-prayer-is-where-the-action-is/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) > [The prayer closet is the arena which produces the overcomer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/the-prayer-closet-is-the-arena-which-produces-the-overcomer/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) > [Someone has described the modern American as a person who drives a bank financed car over a bond financed highway on credit card gas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/someone-has-described-the-modern-american-as-a-person-who-drives-a/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) > [Through the plan of prayer, God actually is inviting redeemed man into full partnership with Him; not in making the divine decisions, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/through-the-plan-of-prayer-god-actually-is-inviting-redeemed-man-into/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) > [From heaven's standpoint, all spiritual victories are won not primarily in the pulpit, not primarily in the klieg light of publicity, nor yet through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/from-heaven-s-standpoint-all-spiritual-victories-are-won-not/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) > [Intercession is the most unselfish thing anyone can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/intercession-is-the-most-unselfish-thing-anyone-can-do/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) > [Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/satan-does-not-care-how-many-people-read-about-prayer-if-only-he-can/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) > [Any church program, no matter how impressive, if it is not supported by an adequate prayer program, is little more than an ecclesiastical treadmill.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/any-church-program-no-matter-how-impressive-if-it-is-not-supported-by/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) > [God designed the program of prayer as an 'apprenticeship' for eternal sovereignty with Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/god-designed-the-program-of-prayer-as-an-apprenticeship-for-eternal/) [Paul Billheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) [Explore all 11 Paul Billheimer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The explanation is that prayer is not primarily God's way of getting things done. It is God's way of giving the church 'on the job training' in overcoming the forces hostile to God.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Billheimer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-primarily-god-s-way-of-getting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Church" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-primarily-god-s-way-of-getting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/paul-billheimer-38433_church_the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-pr_684390.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/paul-billheimer-38433_church_the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-pr_684390.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/paul-billheimer-38433_church_the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-pr_684390.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The explanation is that prayer is not primarily God's way of getting things done. It is God's way of giving…” — Paul Billheimer", "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": "Paul Billheimer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-billheimer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The explanation is that prayer is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-primarily-god-s-way-of-getting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-billheimer/the-explanation-is-that-prayer-is-not-primarily-god-s-way-of-getting/#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 } } ] } ```