--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A rich, vibrant, consoling, hard-won…" description: "\"A rich, vibrant, consoling, hard-won prayer life is the one good that makes it possible to receive all other kinds of goods rightly and beneficially. [..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/timothy-keller-240_consoling_a-rich-vibrant-consoling-hard-won-prayer_1803379.jpg" --- # A rich, vibrant, consoling, hard-won prayer life is the… ![“A rich, vibrant, consoling, hard-won prayer life is the one good that makes it possible to receive all other kinds of goods rightly and beneficially. [Paul] does not see prayer as merely a way to get things from God but as a way to get more of God himself.” quote by Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/timothy-keller-240_consoling_a-rich-vibrant-consoling-hard-won-prayer_1803379.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/timothy-keller-240_consoling_a-rich-vibrant-consoling-hard-won-prayer_1803379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3c/timothy-keller-240_consoling_a-rich-vibrant-consoling-hard-won-prayer_1803379.jpg) > “A rich, vibrant, consoling, hard-won prayer life is the one good that makes it possible to receive all other kinds of goods rightly and beneficially. \[Paul\] does not see prayer as merely a way to get things from God but as a way to get more of God himself.” [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) ## 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 a means to deepen relationship with God, not just a request list. **In simple terms:** Prayer connects us to God, not just asks. Key Takeaway Prioritize relational prayer over transactional. Themes faith prayer relationship Mood contemplative inspirational Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - personal devotion - church teaching - spiritual growth Key Concepts theology spiritual formation Questions to Reflect On - How can you shift from asking to listening? - What does ‘more of God’ feel like? A Different Perspective Treating prayer as a transaction can diminish its depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consoling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consoling/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayer life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer-life/) ## Related quotes > [God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/god-does-nothing-but-by-prayer-and-everything-with-it/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [They said: O Shu'aib! does your prayer enjoin you that we should forsake what our fathers worshipped or that we should not do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quran/they-said-o-shu-aib-does-your-prayer-enjoin-you-that-we-should/) [Quran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quran/) > [“2562 Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-catholic-church/2562-where-does-prayer-come-from-whether-prayer-is-expressed-in-words/) [The Catholic Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-catholic-church/) > [If man is man and God is God, to live without prayer is not merely an awful thing: it is an infinitely foolish thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/if-man-is-man-and-god-is-god-to-live-without-prayer-is-not-merely-an/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Prayer should not be merely an act, but an attitude of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/prayer-should-not-be-merely-an-act-but-an-attitude-of-life/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Just as a prayer may be merely a mechanical intonation as of a bird, so may a fast be a mere mechanical torture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/just-as-a-prayer-may-be-merely-a-mechanical-intonation-as-of-a-bird/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If the answers to prayer are merely what God wills all along, then why pray?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/if-the-answers-to-prayer-are-merely-what-god-wills-all-along-then-why/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [The infallible test of spiritual integrity, Jesus says, is your private prayer life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-infallible-test-of-spiritual-integrity-jesus-says-is-your-private/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Talking about your feeling with someone who is willing to listen can be enormously consoling, especially if that person has experienced a death similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-lightner/talking-about-your-feeling-with-someone-who-is-willing-to-listen-can/) [Candy Lightner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-lightner/) > [I think there is something very consoling in feeling lost in space but also feeling grounded, and seeing that all of this is part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-tillmans/i-think-there-is-something-very-consoling-in-feeling-lost-in-space/) [Wolfgang Tillmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-tillmans/) > [At every moment in our lives we need compassion, but what more urgent moment could there be than when we are dying? What more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/at-every-moment-in-our-lives-we-need-compassion-but-what-more-urgent/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [She had always been a reader… but now she was obsessed. Since her discovery of the book hoard downstairs from her job, she’d been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/she-had-always-been-a-reader-but-now-she-was-obsessed-since-her/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [And Christ, through His own salvific suffering, is very much present in every human suffering, and can act from within that suffering by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/and-christ-through-his-own-salvific-suffering-is-very-much-present-in/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) ## More by Timothy Keller > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [The more you rejoice in your own forgiveness, the quicker you will be to forgive others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-more-you-rejoice-in-your-own-forgiveness-the-quicker-you-will-be/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Evangelism will come organically in friendship if we don’t let our pride, fears, and pessimism cause us to hide our faith and heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/evangelism-will-come-organically-in-friendship-if-we-don-t-let-our/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“The coming of the messianic King occurs in two stages. At his first coming, he saved us from the penalty of sin and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-coming-of-the-messianic-king-occurs-in-two-stages-at-his-first/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ “24 A few pages later, Delbanco writes the following: \[Alexis de\] Tocqueville’s detection of a “strange melancholy in the midst of abundance” has a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/24-a-few-pages-later-delbanco-writes-the-following-alexis-de/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“To stay away from Christianity because part of the Bible's teaching is offensive to you assumes that if there is a God he wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/to-stay-away-from-christianity-because-part-of-the-bible-s-teaching/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-the-preaching-of-our-ministers-and-the-practice-of-our/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“of temple, presence, and sacrifice; of covenant and faithfulness; of kingdom and victory. When we seek to communicate the gospel to a particular culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/of-temple-presence-and-sacrifice-of-covenant-and-faithfulness-of/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Finally, you are ready to launch your church. Begin by developing action steps and goals that can be used as benchmarks to track your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/finally-you-are-ready-to-launch-your-church-begin-by-developing/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [If you are a child of God, you don’t lose your status if you have a bad week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-a-child-of-god-you-don-t-lose-your-status-if-you-have-a/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [God's salvation does not come in response to a changed life. A changed life comes in response to the salvation, offered as a free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/god-s-salvation-does-not-come-in-response-to-a-changed-life-a-changed/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“When anything in life is an absolute requirement for your happiness and self-worth, it is essentially an ‘idol,’ something you are actually worshiping. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/when-anything-in-life-is-an-absolute-requirement-for-your-happiness/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Suffering is the stripping of our hope in finite things, therefore we do not put our ultimate hope in anything finite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/suffering-is-the-stripping-of-our-hope-in-finite-things-therefore-we/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Christ will do everything for you or nothing. He's either all of your righteousness or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/christ-will-do-everything-for-you-or-nothing-he-s-either-all-of-your/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [If we give God things in hope that they'll earn us blessings, we're really not doing anything for him. It's for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-we-give-god-things-in-hope-that-they-ll-earn-us-blessings-we-re/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) [Explore all 843 Timothy Keller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) ## More Consoling quotes > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [And Christ, through His own salvific suffering, is very much present in every human suffering, and can act from within that suffering by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/and-christ-through-his-own-salvific-suffering-is-very-much-present-in/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [She had always been a reader… but now she was obsessed. Since her discovery of the book hoard downstairs from her job, she’d been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/she-had-always-been-a-reader-but-now-she-was-obsessed-since-her/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [At every moment in our lives we need compassion, but what more urgent moment could there be than when we are dying? What more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/at-every-moment-in-our-lives-we-need-compassion-but-what-more-urgent/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [I think there is something very consoling in feeling lost in space but also feeling grounded, and seeing that all of this is part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-tillmans/i-think-there-is-something-very-consoling-in-feeling-lost-in-space/) [Wolfgang Tillmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-tillmans/) > [Talking about your feeling with someone who is willing to listen can be enormously consoling, especially if that person has experienced a death similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-lightner/talking-about-your-feeling-with-someone-who-is-willing-to-listen-can/) [Candy Lightner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-lightner/) > [When it comes to spiritual teachers, there are those safe, gentle, consoling, soothing, caring; and there are the outlaws, the living terrors, the Rude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/when-it-comes-to-spiritual-teachers-there-are-those-safe-gentle/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [“. . . In all parts of our globe, fanatics have cut each other's throats, publicly burnt each other, committed without a scruple and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/in-all-parts-of-our-globe-fanatics-have-cut-each-other-s-throats/) [Baron D'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [False beliefs can be every bit as consoling as true ones, right up until the moment of disillusionment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/false-beliefs-can-be-every-bit-as-consoling-as-true-ones-right-up/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It can be consoling to think your children are in heaven. You have got to understand that that doesn't make it true. Many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-can-be-consoling-to-think-your-children-are-in-heaven-you-have-got/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I'm not interested in provoking people, but only in trying to be consoling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-kippenberger/i-m-not-interested-in-provoking-people-but-only-in-trying-to-be/) [Martin Kippenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-kippenberger/) > [A consoling thought: what matters is not what we do, but the spirit in which we do it. Others suffer too; so much so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/a-consoling-thought-what-matters-is-not-what-we-do-but-the-spirit-in/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Consoling a miserable soul, wiping the tears of a crying person is greater than any worldly achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/consoling-a-miserable-soul-wiping-the-tears-of-a-crying-person-is/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [I wish I could live underwater. Maybe then my skin would absorb the sea’s consoling silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/i-wish-i-could-live-underwater-maybe-then-my-skin-would-absorb-the/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) [Browse all 101 Consoling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consoling/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A rich, vibrant, consoling, hard-won prayer life is the one good that makes it possible to receive all other kinds of goods rightly and beneficially. 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