--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He prays best who, not asking God to do…" description: "\"He prays best who, not asking God to do man's work, prays penitence, prays resolutions, and then prays deeds--thus supplicating with heart and head and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/theodore-parker-4457_asking_he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-m_650006.png" --- # He prays best who, not asking God to do man's work, prays… ![“He prays best who, not asking God to do man's work, prays penitence, prays resolutions, and then prays deeds--thus supplicating with heart and head and hands.” quote by Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/theodore-parker-4457_asking_he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-m_650006.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/theodore-parker-4457_asking_he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-m_650006.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/theodore-parker-4457_asking_he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-m_650006.png) > “He prays best who, not asking God to do man's work, prays penitence, prays resolutions, and then prays deeds--thus supplicating with heart and head and hands.” [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True prayer involves personal effort and moral resolve, not merely asking divine intervention; it calls for inner repentance, clear intentions, and concrete action. **In simple terms:** Prayer means acting with heart, mind, and hands. Key Takeaway Combine belief with purposeful deeds. Themes faith action responsibility spirituality Mood contemplative motivational Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - personal goal setting - community service - overcoming challenges Key Concepts self-discipline ethical conduct Questions to Reflect On - How can you align your prayers with tangible actions? - What does sincere repentance look like in daily life? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asking god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-god/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Head and heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/head-and-heart/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Penitence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penitence/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Resolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resolution/) ## Related quotes > [He prays best who does not know that he is praying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-of-padua/he-prays-best-who-does-not-know-that-he-is-praying/) [Anthony of Padua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-of-padua/) > [I'm definitely someone who likes to fly by the seat of her pants. My mum always prays for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-larter/i-m-definitely-someone-who-likes-to-fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants-my/) [Ali Larter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-larter/) > [All the impressions which are made on us by Nature are designed to exercise our soul during its terms of penitence, to prompt us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-claude-de-saint-martin/all-the-impressions-which-are-made-on-us-by-nature-are-designed-to/) [Louis Claude de Saint-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-claude-de-saint-martin/) > [True penitence condemns to silence. What a man is ready to recall he would be willing to repeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-bradley/true-penitence-condemns-to-silence-what-a-man-is-ready-to-recall-he/) [F. H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-bradley/) > [Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/prayer-in-the-sense-of-petition-asking-for-things-is-a-small-part-of/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“It was a long week of penitence and fasting, during which there were no card games and no music that might lead to lust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/it-was-a-long-week-of-penitence-and-fasting-during-which-there-were/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Virtue and vice are both prophets; the first, of certain good; the second, of pain or else of penitence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-venning/virtue-and-vice-are-both-prophets-the-first-of-certain-good-the/) [Ralph Venning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-venning/) > [Prayer is the converse of the soul with God. Therein we manifest or express to Him our reverence, and love for His divine perfection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hodge/prayer-is-the-converse-of-the-soul-with-god-therein-we-manifest-or/) [Charles Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hodge/) > [It's not my business to try and make God think like me... but to try, in prayer and penitence, to think like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/it-s-not-my-business-to-try-and-make-god-think-like-me-but-to-try-in/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The meaning of atonement is not to be found in our penitence evoked by the sight of Calvary, but rather in what God did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/the-meaning-of-atonement-is-not-to-be-found-in-our-penitence-evoked/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [Someone who is elated with wine speaks the truth on all subjects, even without meaning to. In the same way, anyone who is inebriated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-climacus/someone-who-is-elated-with-wine-speaks-the-truth-on-all-subjects-even/) [John Climacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-climacus/) > [Hail, high Excess especially in wine, To thee in worship do I bend the knee Who preach abstemiousness unto me My skull thy pulpit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hail-high-excess-especially-in-wine-to-thee-in-worship-do-i-bend-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“Some people in orthodox churches in Africa take poverty as a path that leads to heaven, making christianity look unattractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-people-in-orthodox-churches-in-africa-take-poverty-as-a-path/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“Penitence is nothing but a form of self-indulgence. Some things you cannot wash from your hands, and there’s no use in trying.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-keyes/penitence-is-nothing-but-a-form-of-self-indulgence-some-things-you/) [Greg Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-keyes/) > [There must be room for penitence to mend Life's broken chance; else noise of wars would unmake heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cary/there-must-be-room-for-penitence-to-mend-life-s-broken-chance-else/) [Alice Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cary/) ## More by Theodore Parker > [That which is called liberality is frequently nothing more than the vanity of giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/that-which-is-called-liberality-is-frequently-nothing-more-than-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Every man has at times in his mind the Ideal of what he should be, but is not. This ideal may be high and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/every-man-has-at-times-in-his-mind-the-ideal-of-what-he-should-be-but/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one. . . . But from what I see I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/i-do-not-pretend-to-understand-the-moral-universe-the-arc-is-a-long/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [For a thousand years no king in Christendom has shown such greatness or given so high a type of manly virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/for-a-thousand-years-no-king-in-christendom-has-shown-such-greatness/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Let us do our duty in our shop or our kitchen, in the market, the street, the office, the school, the home, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/let-us-do-our-duty-in-our-shop-or-our-kitchen-in-the-market-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Temperance is corporeal piety; it is the preservation of divine order in the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/temperance-is-corporeal-piety-it-is-the-preservation-of-divine-order/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Science is the natural ally of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/science-is-the-natural-ally-of-religion/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The lottery of honest labor, drawn by time, is the only one whose prizes are worth taking up and carrying home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-lottery-of-honest-labor-drawn-by-time-is-the-only-one-whose/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The joy of heaven will begin as soon as we attain the character of heaven, and do its duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-joy-of-heaven-will-begin-as-soon-as-we-attain-the-character-of/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The books that help you the most are those which make you think the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-books-that-help-you-the-most-are-those-which-make-you-think-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Mankind never loses any good thing, physical, intellectual, or moral, till it finds a better, and then the loss is a gain. No steps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/mankind-never-loses-any-good-thing-physical-intellectual-or-moral/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Manly natural religion - it is not joining the Church; it is not to believe in a creed, Hebrew, Protestant, Catholic, Trinitarian, Unitarian, Nothingarian.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/manly-natural-religion-it-is-not-joining-the-church-it-is-not-to/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The books which help you most are those which make you think the most. The hardest way of learning is by easy reading; every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-books-which-help-you-most-are-those-which-make-you-think-the-most/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [What succeeds we keep, and it becomes the habit of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/what-succeeds-we-keep-and-it-becomes-the-habit-of-mankind/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Wit has its place in debate; in controversy it is a legitimate weapon, offensive and defensive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/wit-has-its-place-in-debate-in-controversy-it-is-a-legitimate-weapon/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) [Explore all 110 Theodore Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He prays best who, not asking God to do man's work, prays penitence, prays resolutions, and then prays deeds--thus supplicating with heart and head and hands.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Parker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-man-s-work-prays-penitence/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asking" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-man-s-work-prays-penitence/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/theodore-parker-4457_asking_he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-m_650006.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/theodore-parker-4457_asking_he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-m_650006.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/theodore-parker-4457_asking_he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-m_650006.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He prays best who, not asking God to do man's work, prays penitence, prays resolutions, and then prays…” — Theodore Parker", "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": "Theodore Parker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He prays best who, not asking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-man-s-work-prays-penitence/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-man-s-work-prays-penitence/#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 } } ] } ```