--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The single most important piece of advice…" description: "\"“The single most important piece of advice about prayer is one word: Begin!”\" — Peter Kreeft" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/peter-kreeft-820_begin_the-single-most-important-piece-of-advic_1116279.png" --- # The single most important piece of advice about prayer is… ![“The single most important piece of advice about prayer is one word: Begin!” quote by Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/peter-kreeft-820_begin_the-single-most-important-piece-of-advic_1116279.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/peter-kreeft-820_begin_the-single-most-important-piece-of-advic_1116279.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/peter-kreeft-820_begin_the-single-most-important-piece-of-advic_1116279.png) > ““The single most important piece of advice about prayer is one word: Begin!”” [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## 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 most effective when it begins, emphasizing action over endless contemplation. **In simple terms:** Start praying now. Key Takeaway Begin praying without delay. Themes faith action spiritual practice Mood encouraging motivational Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - personal devotion - group worship - daily routine Key Concepts prayer initiation habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How can you incorporate the habit of starting prayer? - What obstacles prevent you from beginning? A Different Perspective One word may oversimplify complex spiritual needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice-prayer-2997903/) [Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayer Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer-word-1856584/) [Single Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-important/) [Talking to god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking-to-god/) [Word Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-begin-2997904/) ## Related quotes > [“And by the power of a word, I begin my life again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-eluard/and-by-the-power-of-a-word-i-begin-my-life-again/) [Paul Éluard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-eluard/) > [Prayer is the Word of God which comes to you when you are silent enough, still enough and expectant to receive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-s-goldsmith/prayer-is-the-word-of-god-which-comes-to-you-when-you-are-silent/) [Joel S. Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-s-goldsmith/) > [I'm not sure where I heard it or why I believed it but when I was in my mid-twenties, a few words changed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/i-m-not-sure-where-i-heard-it-or-why-i-believed-it-but-when-i-was-in/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [“I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the word of God, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mueller/i-saw-that-the-most-important-thing-i-had-to-do-was-to-give-myself-to/) [George Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mueller/) > [To ascertain the Lord's will, we ought to use scriptural means. Prayer, the word of God, and His Spirit should be united together. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/to-ascertain-the-lord-s-will-we-ought-to-use-scriptural-means-prayer/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [How little wives may realize that a biting, stinging word in the morning will rob a husband of efficiency the whole day long. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-hagin/how-little-wives-may-realize-that-a-biting-stinging-word-in-the/) [Kenneth E. Hagin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-hagin/) > [One of the most effective ways to pray is to ask God to give you a promise from his Word concerning whatever it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-graham-lotz/one-of-the-most-effective-ways-to-pray-is-to-ask-god-to-give-you-a/) [Anne Graham Lotz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-graham-lotz/) > [Spending time with God through prayer and His Word is a prerequisite for having a great life and fulfilling your purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/spending-time-with-god-through-prayer-and-his-word-is-a-prerequisite/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time unless he eats, so is with the inner man. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/as-the-outward-man-is-not-fit-for-work-for-any-length-of-time-unless/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [Charles Williams has said of the Lord's Prayer, "No word in English carries a greater possibility of terror than the little word 'as' in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/charles-williams-has-said-of-the-lord-s-prayer-no-word-in-english/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [One of the major symptoms of the general crisis existent in our world today is our lack of sensitivity to words. We use words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/one-of-the-major-symptoms-of-the-general-crisis-existent-in-our-world/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [Prayer is the Word of God which comes to you when you are silent enough, still enough, expectant enough to receive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-s-goldsmith/prayer-is-the-word-of-god-which-comes-to-you-when-you-are-silent-2/) [Joel S. Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-s-goldsmith/) > [But petitional prayer is only one department of prayer; and if we take the word in the wider sense as meaning every kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/but-petitional-prayer-is-only-one-department-of-prayer-and-if-we-take/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Now what is food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God; and here again, not the simple reading of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/now-what-is-food-for-the-inner-man-not-prayer-but-the-word-of-god-and/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [“God makes it easy to begin: just do it! God also makes it easy to progress in prayer, for he rewards our efforts with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-makes-it-easy-to-begin-just-do-it-god-also-makes-it-easy-to/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## More by Peter Kreeft > [“I strongly suspect that if we saw all the difference even the tiniest of our prayers to God make, and all the people those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/i-strongly-suspect-that-if-we-saw-all-the-difference-even-the-tiniest/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [God's love is as objective as light. Because the sun in a sense is light, or the source of light rather than being lit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-love-is-as-objective-as-light-because-the-sun-in-a-sense-is/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The self is like a baseball. Throw it back to the divine pitcher who pitched it to you in the first place, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-self-is-like-a-baseball-throw-it-back-to-the-divine-pitcher-who/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [How will the Tower of Babel be undone? How will we understand each other in Heaven? Will we all speak English or Dutch or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/how-will-the-tower-of-babel-be-undone-how-will-we-understand-each/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Humility is the marriage bond of Heaven. Pride is the frigidity of Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/humility-is-the-marriage-bond-of-heaven-pride-is-the-frigidity-of-hell/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“Socrates says we must be either fools because we think we are wise, or wise because we know we are fools. Christ says we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/socrates-says-we-must-be-either-fools-because-we-think-we-are-wise-or/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Science only answers the question, How does it work? Or at most, What's there? Science asks what and how, philosophy asks why, myth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/science-only-answers-the-question-how-does-it-work-or-at-most-what-s/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The most compelling evidence for God's existence is Christ. If God does not exist, then Christ was the biggest fool who ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-compelling-evidence-for-god-s-existence-is-christ-if-god/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“One moment of prayer, of weak worship, confused contrition, tepid thanksgiving, or pitiful petition will bring us closer to God than all the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/one-moment-of-prayer-of-weak-worship-confused-contrition-tepid/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [God's interventions are miracles: events that cannot happen by merely natural agents but only by a supernatural agent. They no more interfere with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-interventions-are-miracles-events-that-cannot-happen-by-merely/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“And what is consensus? It means a majority of the individuals in a society coming together and agreeing to make their values into laws,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/and-what-is-consensus-it-means-a-majority-of-the-individuals-in-a/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Love is the binding force on every level of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/love-is-the-binding-force-on-every-level-of-existence/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We can't believe what we believe to be untrue, and we can't love what we believe to be unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/we-can-t-believe-what-we-believe-to-be-untrue-and-we-can-t-love-what/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) [Explore all 361 Peter Kreeft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## More Begin quotes > [If you wanted to put the world to rights, who should you begin with: yourself or others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-you-wanted-to-put-the-world-to-rights-who-should-you-begin-with/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Let the motherfucking games begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/let-the-motherfucking-games-begin/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/begin-as-you-mean-to-go-on-and-go-on-as-you-began-and-let-the-lord-be/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [The world will only begin to have faith in you when you do too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-world-will-only-begin-to-have-faith-in-you-when-you-do-too/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The idea with a collection is sort of to begin with a kind of bang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/the-idea-with-a-collection-is-sort-of-to-begin-with-a-kind-of-bang/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [“Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you high. People who are gentle, humble and able always have a great ending no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/humble-yourself-before-the-lord-and-he-will-lift-you-high-people-who/) [israelmore ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/just-begin-and-the-mind-grows-heated-continue-and-the-task-will-be/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Quitters don’t gain what they have started working on; waiters don’t start what they could have gained. What is common there is failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/quitters-don-t-gain-what-they-have-started-working-on-waiters-don-t/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-akin/i-don-t-know-the-future-i-didn-t-come-here-to-tell-you-how-this-is/) [Todd Akin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-akin/) > [The public should begin to understand that there's nothing that comes out of this campaign, or this Obama White House, that they can believe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/the-public-should-begin-to-understand-that-there-s-nothing-that-comes/) [John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/) > [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I look forward to the day that a lot of the folks that you all talk about and cover on this network will begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-forward-to-the-day-that-a-lot-of-the-folks-that-you-all-talk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...I'd be interested in any tips you have for somebody starting out.” “Uh-huh,” I said, looking out the window. I decided, as we drove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/i-d-be-interested-in-any-tips-you-have-for-somebody-starting-out-uh/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. Maybe it's here in the U.S. that we find a healing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fionnula-flanagan/i-m-irish-and-always-will-be-but-america-has-taught-me-so-much-maybe/) [Fionnula Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fionnula-flanagan/) > [Begin where you are. Read every word, every phrase, every paragraph of the mind, as it operates through thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/begin-where-you-are-read-every-word-every-phrase-every-paragraph-of/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) [Browse all 1,199 Begin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The single most important piece of advice about prayer is one word: Begin!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Kreeft" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-single-most-important-piece-of-advice-about-prayer-is-one-word/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Begin" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-single-most-important-piece-of-advice-about-prayer-is-one-word/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/peter-kreeft-820_begin_the-single-most-important-piece-of-advic_1116279.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/peter-kreeft-820_begin_the-single-most-important-piece-of-advic_1116279.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/peter-kreeft-820_begin_the-single-most-important-piece-of-advic_1116279.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The single most important piece of advice about prayer is one word: Begin!” — Peter Kreeft", "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": "Peter Kreeft", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The single most important piece of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-single-most-important-piece-of-advice-about-prayer-is-one-word/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-single-most-important-piece-of-advice-about-prayer-is-one-word/#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 } } ] } ```