--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lord, if I thought you were listening…" description: "\"“Lord, if I thought you were listening, I'd pray for this above all: that any church set up in your name should remain poor, and powerless, and modest...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/philip-pullman-525_hot-sun_lord-if-i-thought-you-were-listening-i-d_2064505.png" --- # Lord, if I thought you were listening, I'd pray for this… ![“Lord, if I thought you were listening, I'd pray for this above all: that any church set up in your name should remain poor, and powerless, and modest. That it should wield no authority except that of love. That it should never cast anyone out. That it should own no property and make no laws. That…” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/philip-pullman-525_hot-sun_lord-if-i-thought-you-were-listening-i-d_2064505.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/philip-pullman-525_hot-sun_lord-if-i-thought-you-were-listening-i-d_2064505.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/philip-pullman-525_hot-sun_lord-if-i-thought-you-were-listening-i-d_2064505.png) > ““Lord, if I thought you were listening, I'd pray for this above all: that any church set up in your name should remain poor, and powerless, and modest. That it should wield no authority except that of love. That it should never cast anyone out. That it should own no property and make no laws. That it should not condemn, but only forgive. That it should be not like a palace with marble walls and polished floors, and guards standing at the door, but like a tree with its roots deep in the soil, that shelters every kind of bird and beast and gives blossom in the spring and shade in the hot sun and fruit in the season, and in time gives up its good sound wood for the carpenter; but that sheds many thousands of seeds so that new trees can grow in its place. Does the tree say to the sparrow, 'Get out, you don't belong here?' Does the tree say to the hungry man, 'This fruit is not for you?' Does the tree test the loyalty of the beasts before it allows them into the shade?”” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A church should embody love, humility, and generosity, serving all without power or exclusion. **In simple terms:** Church should be loving, modest, and inclusive. Key Takeaway Practice humility and generosity in leadership. Themes humility inclusion service spirituality Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - community building - faith leadership - social activism - charitable work Key Concepts Christian ethics social responsibility altruism Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions stay humble? - What practices keep power in check? A Different Perspective Power can corrupt even well‑intentioned institutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hot sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hot-sun/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [Lord, if I thought you were listening, I'd pray for this above all: that any church set up in your name should remain poor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/lord-if-i-thought-you-were-listening-i-d-pray-for-this-above-all-that/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The Lord said, 'Look unto me in every thought' (D&C 6:36). Looking unto the Lord every thought is the only possible way we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/the-lord-said-look-unto-me-in-every-thought-d-c-6-36-looking-unto-the/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [It is difficult to live with the pure. They do not condemn you; they forgive you. This forgiveness is more terrible than a judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/it-is-difficult-to-live-with-the-pure-they-do-not-condemn-you-they/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [When I gave my life to the Lord, I thought I'd be a preacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/when-i-gave-my-life-to-the-lord-i-thought-i-d-be-a-preacher/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [We like to say we pray in the church of Graham, Dodd, Buffett, and Munger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/we-like-to-say-we-pray-in-the-church-of-graham-dodd-buffett-and-munger/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [A parent asked me today, "How do you get your children to pray in church?" My response? "Pray at home."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hart/a-parent-asked-me-today-how-do-you-get-your-children-to-pray-in/) [Mark Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hart/) > [Father, look upon us in Your goodness and kindness, we pray as a church. Help us to love each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/father-look-upon-us-in-your-goodness-and-kindness-we-pray-as-a-church/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-love-you-when-you-bow-in-your-mosque-kneel-in-your-temple-pray-in/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Let us pray that the Church be holier and more humble, loving God by serving the poor, the lonely and the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/let-us-pray-that-the-church-be-holier-and-more-humble-loving-god-by/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“A hungry man can be a fast learner. When you come to a table with nothing but need, you are grateful for things you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-yankoski/a-hungry-man-can-be-a-fast-learner-when-you-come-to-a-table-with/) [Mike Yankoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-yankoski/) > [Those who know their unworthiness seize grace as a hungry man seizes bread: the self-righteous resent grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/those-who-know-their-unworthiness-seize-grace-as-a-hungry-man-seizes/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [“AN HUNGRY MAN IS ALWAYS AN ANGRY MAN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sekou-konneh/an-hungry-man-is-always-an-angry-man/) Sekou Konneh > [A hungry man is an angry one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buchi-emecheta/a-hungry-man-is-an-angry-one/) [Buchi Emecheta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buchi-emecheta/) > [Hungry man, reach for the book: it is a weapon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/hungry-man-reach-for-the-book-it-is-a-weapon/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Get out from that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans. Well, roll my breakfast cause I'm a hungry man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-joe-turner/get-out-from-that-kitchen-and-rattle-those-pots-and-pans-well-roll-my/) [Big Joe Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-joe-turner/) ## More by Philip Pullman > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-don-t-need-lists-of-rights-and-wrongs-tables-of-do-s-and-don-ts-we/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-stolen-ideas-from-every-book-i-have-ever-read/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/all-the-stories-of-the-bible-that-i-know-came-to-me-first-from-my/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [What I do say is that I can write verse, and that the writing of verse in strict form is the best possible training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/what-i-do-say-is-that-i-can-write-verse-and-that-the-writing-of-verse/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Writing is tyranny ... but reading is democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/writing-is-tyranny-but-reading-is-democracy/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Middlemarch is a novel that is diminished by being put on the screen. It can't help but be, because so much of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/middlemarch-is-a-novel-that-is-diminished-by-being-put-on-the-screen/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-think-what-worrying-does-has-anyone-ever-added-a-single-hour-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-are-all-subject-to-the-fates-but-we-must-all-act-as-if-we-are-not/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. So I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/lonely-i-don-t-know-they-tell-me-this-is-cold-i-don-t-know-what-cold/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Just finished 'Secrecy' - truly enthralling both as a love story and as a tale of suspense - but much more than both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/just-finished-secrecy-truly-enthralling-both-as-a-love-story-and-as-a/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“As Auden is believed to have said, no poem saved a single Jew from the gas chambers. Never mind. Write the poems anyway. Play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/as-auden-is-believed-to-have-said-no-poem-saved-a-single-jew-from-the/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) [Explore all 479 Philip Pullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More Hot sun quotes > [“Ugh. That smell. It always conjures up hated memories of the stupid jar of pennies my father had kept on the window sill in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-tufo/ugh-that-smell-it-always-conjures-up-hated-memories-of-the-stupid-jar/) [Mark Tufo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-tufo/) > [It's not palm trees and neon signs in Florida; it's strip malls, highways, hot sun beating down on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-jenkins/it-s-not-palm-trees-and-neon-signs-in-florida-it-s-strip-malls/) [Patty Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-jenkins/) > [“My mind is like the valley—this vast barren waste. Car lots. Malls. Tract homes. I know there are other worlds beyond it—of canyons full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/my-mind-is-like-the-valley-this-vast-barren-waste-car-lots-malls/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“I knelt and started to pray and prayed for everybody I thought of, Brett and Mike and Bill and Robert Cohn and myself, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-knelt-and-started-to-pray-and-prayed-for-everybody-i-thought-of/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“And perhaps one day, in after years, someone would wander there and listen to the silence, as she had done, and catch the whisper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/and-perhaps-one-day-in-after-years-someone-would-wander-there-and/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“They dream of the happiness of stretching out one's legs and of the relief one feels after going to the toilet. In Orotukan the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/they-dream-of-the-happiness-of-stretching-out-one-s-legs-and-of-the/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The general struggle for existence of animate beings is not a struggle for raw materials, these for organisms are air water & soil, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-boltzmann/the-general-struggle-for-existence-of-animate-beings-is-not-a/) [Ludwig Boltzmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-boltzmann/) > [I Love You. I Promise. I Love You More Then A Fat Kid Love's Food! Whenever I See You My Heart Drops. You Make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-you-i-promise-i-love-you-more-then-a-fat-kid-love-s-food/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Celebrate a hot sunny day with ice cream. Celebrate the rain with a cute umbrella. Life's worth a daily celebration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-rikasari/celebrate-a-hot-sunny-day-with-ice-cream-celebrate-the-rain-with-a/) [Diana Rikasari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-rikasari/) > [“Willie went out and buttonholed folks on the street and tried to explain things to them. 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A thousand things that we daily see, We plant the spire that out-towers the crag,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-abbey/what-do-we-plant-when-we-plant-a-tree-a-thousand-things-that-we-daily/) [Henry Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-abbey/) > [“When I close my eyes to see, to hear, to smell, to touch a country I have known, I feel my body shake and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/when-i-close-my-eyes-to-see-to-hear-to-smell-to-touch-a-country-i/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) [Browse all 70 Hot sun quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hot-sun/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Lord, if I thought you were listening, I'd pray for this above all: that any church set up in your name should remain poor, and powerless, and modest. That it should wield no authority except that of love. That it should never cast anyone out. 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