---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Prayer is looking out from a different…"
description: "\"Prayer is looking out from a different set of eyes, which are not comparing, competing, judging, labeling or analyzing, but receiving the moment in its..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/richard-rohr-618_analyzing_prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-s_3171665.png"
---

#  Prayer is looking out from a different set of eyes, which…

![“Prayer is looking out from a different set of eyes, which are not comparing, competing, judging, labeling or analyzing, but receiving the moment in its present wholeness and unwholeness. That is what is meant by contemplation.” quote by Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/richard-rohr-618_analyzing_prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-s_3171665.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/richard-rohr-618_analyzing_prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-s_3171665.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/richard-rohr-618_analyzing_prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-s_3171665.png)

> “Prayer is looking out from a different set of eyes, which are not comparing, competing, judging, labeling or analyzing, but receiving the moment in its present wholeness and unwholeness. That is what is meant by contemplation.”

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Contemplation involves seeing without judgment, allowing the present moment to be experienced wholly, beyond analysis or comparison.

**In simple terms:** Seeing without judging, fully present.

Key Takeaway

Practice non‑judgmental awareness.

Themes

spirituality mindfulness perception inner peace

Mood

calm reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- meditation
- daily reflection
- stressful meetings

Key Concepts

contemplation presence non‑attachment

Questions to Reflect On

- What does it feel like to observe without labeling?
- How can you bring this mindset into daily tasks?

A Different Perspective

Contemplation can be difficult when the mind is habitually critical.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Analyzing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analyzing/) [Compare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare/) [Competing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competing/) [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging/) [Labeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labeling/) [Meant Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meant-contemplation-5775944/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayer Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer-looking-4980978/) [Receiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/receiving/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness/) [Wholeness Unwholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness-unwholeness-5775945/)

## Related quotes

> [“What is prayer?” Looking for no reply, he expected to give the answer himself. To his amazement, scores of little hands shot up all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknown-christian/what-is-prayer-looking-for-no-reply-he-expected-to-give-the-answer/)

[Unknown Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknown-christian/)

> [The kind of prayer I am talking about is a detached kind of prayer in which you are not looking for anything, just putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-girzone/the-kind-of-prayer-i-am-talking-about-is-a-detached-kind-of-prayer-in/)

[Joseph Girzone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-girzone/)

> [Whole people see and create wholeness wherever they go; split people see and create splits in everything and everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/whole-people-see-and-create-wholeness-wherever-they-go-split-people/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [“What is the point of labeling each individual piece of fruit? Buy the fruit, EAT the ad! We've carved a chunk out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/what-is-the-point-of-labeling-each-individual-piece-of-fruit-buy-the/)

[Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/)

> [I am used to jealousy and people putting me in a box and labeling me without really knowing me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonja-morgan/i-am-used-to-jealousy-and-people-putting-me-in-a-box-and-labeling-me/)

[Sonja Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonja-morgan/)

> [As for labeling someone a whistleblower, I think it does them - it does all of us - a disservice, because it "otherizes" us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/as-for-labeling-someone-a-whistleblower-i-think-it-does-them-it-does/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [The FDA has received over a million comments from citizens demanding labeling of GMOs. 90 percent of Americans agree. So, why no labeling?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-fda-has-received-over-a-million-comments-from-citizens-demanding/)

[Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/)

> [No day passes without a Democratic politician, a left-wing commentator, or, if I may be excused a redundancy, a left-wing academic labeling Republicans and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/no-day-passes-without-a-democratic-politician-a-left-wing-commentator/)

[Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/)

> [Comedy doesn't come easy for me. I've only done 2 movies that are really comedy-style films and I have to work at them. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-tatum/comedy-doesn-t-come-easy-for-me-i-ve-only-done-2-movies-that-are/)

[Channing Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-tatum/)

> [This is a business meal. The calories do not count. I am mentally labeling these as 'business calories' so my body will know they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/this-is-a-business-meal-the-calories-do-not-count-i-am-mentally/)

[Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/)

> [A label is a mask life wears. We put labels on life all the time. 'Right,' 'wrong,' 'success,' 'failure,' . . . Labeling sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/a-label-is-a-mask-life-wears-we-put-labels-on-life-all-the-time-right/)

[Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/)

> [Those who are highly evolved, maintain an undiscriminating perception. Seeing everything, labeling nothing, they maintain their awareness of the Great Oneness. Thus they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/those-who-are-highly-evolved-maintain-an-undiscriminating-perception/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [“Dads. Do you not realize that your child needs to feel your skin on his? Do you not realize the incredible and powerful bond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/dads-do-you-not-realize-that-your-child-needs-to-feel-your-skin-on/)

[Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/)

> [Sometimes labeling is only useful, like with OCD. Once you're labeled you can be treated. On other occasions labeling leads to tyranny, like with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/sometimes-labeling-is-only-useful-like-with-ocd-once-you-re-labeled/)

[Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/)

> [Nothing more guarantees the erosion of character than getting something for nothing. In the liberal welfare state, one develops an entitlement mentality. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/nothing-more-guarantees-the-erosion-of-character-than-getting/)

[Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/)

## More by Richard Rohr

> [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [In my opinion, most organized religion does neither agentic service nor relational nurturance very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-my-opinion-most-organized-religion-does-neither-agentic-service/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-we-do-not-transform-our-pain-we-will-most-assuredly-transmit-it/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the I-thou relationship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-solitude-at-last-we-re-able-to-let-god-define-us-the-way-we-are/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [Pain and suffering that are not transformed are usually projected onto others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/pain-and-suffering-that-are-not-transformed-are-usually-projected/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [“In the end, we do not so much reclaim what we have lost as discover a significantly new self in and through the process.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-the-end-we-do-not-so-much-reclaim-what-we-have-lost-as-discover-a/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will transmit it to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/all-great-spirituality-is-about-what-we-do-with-our-pain-if-we-do-not/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [“I would wonder if you could be a hero or heroine if you did not live in deep time, that is, Past, present, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-would-wonder-if-you-could-be-a-hero-or-heroine-if-you-did-not-live/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [Nature is the one song of praise that never stops singing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/nature-is-the-one-song-of-praise-that-never-stops-singing/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [“I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad. Hating and denying it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-nothing-inside-us-is-as-bad-as/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [We don't have much wisdom about the second half when things really open up and end up looking a lot more progressive. In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-don-t-have-much-wisdom-about-the-second-half-when-things-really/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [If you do not transform your wounds you will transmit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-you-do-not-transform-your-wounds-you-will-transmit-them/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [The real spiritual journey is work. You can make a naïve assertion that you trust in Jesus, but until it is tested a good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-real-spiritual-journey-is-work-you-can-make-a-na-ve-assertion/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [“The soul needs meaning as much as the body needs food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-soul-needs-meaning-as-much-as-the-body-needs-food/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

[Explore all 443 Richard Rohr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

## More Analyzing quotes

> [If there's a lot of fear that's going on, if there's a lot of anxiety, it's manifesting itself in your nocturnal world so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/if-there-s-a-lot-of-fear-that-s-going-on-if-there-s-a-lot-of-anxiety/)

[Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/)

> [Professionals refer to the stages of the intelligence cycle as collection, processing, analyzing and sharing information. In most cases, the implications and significance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hurd/professionals-refer-to-the-stages-of-the-intelligence-cycle-as/)

[Will Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hurd/)

> [People, I am actually fairly smart. Why has this not occurred to anyone? The information is all out there, if you go looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/people-i-am-actually-fairly-smart-why-has-this-not-occurred-to-anyone/)

[Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/)

> [“I need to ask, are you afraid of spiders?" Nicholas blinked, suddenly caught off guard, "Yes, I'm afraid of spiders." "Were you always?" "What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-m-irwin/i-need-to-ask-are-you-afraid-of-spiders-nicholas-blinked-suddenly/)

[Stephen M. Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-m-irwin/)

> [In issues of recent ethnic wars and genocides - particularly if you look at Darfur - one of the most remarkable things is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-daldry/in-issues-of-recent-ethnic-wars-and-genocides-particularly-if-you/)

[Stephen Daldry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-daldry/)

> [I'm usually one of these guys analyzing what does happen and putting it in focus and context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-m-usually-one-of-these-guys-analyzing-what-does-happen-and-putting/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [A popular cliche in philosophy says that science is pure analysis or reductionism, like taking the rainbow to pieces; and art is pure synthesis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/a-popular-cliche-in-philosophy-says-that-science-is-pure-analysis-or/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [You can spend minutes, hours,days, weeks or even months over analyzing a situation, trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-spend-minutes-hours-days-weeks-or-even-months-over-analyzing/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Whenever you study composition you inevitably encounter Bach right off the bat. You can't get across the room without running into him and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-roberts/whenever-you-study-composition-you-inevitably-encounter-bach-right/)

[Howard Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-roberts/)

> [My brain power depends on my retained mastery of analyzing in detail what's happening in my world and in my mind and body. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-merzenich/my-brain-power-depends-on-my-retained-mastery-of-analyzing-in-detail/)

[Michael Merzenich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-merzenich/)

> [“It is said that analyzing pleasure, or beauty, destroys it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mulvey/it-is-said-that-analyzing-pleasure-or-beauty-destroys-it/)

[Laura Mulvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mulvey/)

> [“How come I have to be the one sitting around analyzing him in like microscopic detail, and he gets to be the one with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela/how-come-i-have-to-be-the-one-sitting-around-analyzing-him-in-like/)

[Angela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela/)

> [My most persistent memory of stand - up is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/my-most-persistent-memory-of-stand-up-is-of-my-mouth-being-in-the/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [I want to be my usual painstaking, cautious, slow, conservative self in analyzing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bud-selig/i-want-to-be-my-usual-painstaking-cautious-slow-conservative-self-in/)

[Bud Selig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bud-selig/)

> [I have not spent years in therapy; I tried therapy in my mid-twenties, and it did not go very well. I just thought, 'This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-have-not-spent-years-in-therapy-i-tried-therapy-in-my-mid-twenties/)

[Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/)

[Browse all 220 Analyzing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analyzing/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Prayer is looking out from a different set of eyes, which are not comparing, competing, judging, labeling or analyzing, but receiving the moment in its present wholeness and unwholeness. That is what is meant by contemplation.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Richard Rohr"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-set-of-eyes-which-are-not/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Analyzing"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-set-of-eyes-which-are-not/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/richard-rohr-618_analyzing_prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-s_3171665.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/richard-rohr-618_analyzing_prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-s_3171665.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c33/richard-rohr-618_analyzing_prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-s_3171665.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Prayer is looking out from a different set of eyes, which are not comparing, competing, judging, labeling or…” — Richard Rohr",
                "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": "Richard Rohr",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Prayer is looking out from a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-set-of-eyes-which-are-not/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/prayer-is-looking-out-from-a-different-set-of-eyes-which-are-not/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
