--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cease to think that the decrees of the…" description: "\"Cease to think that the decrees of the gods can be changed by prayers.\" — Virgil" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/virgil-1205_cease_cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-g_970229.jpg" --- # Cease to think that the decrees of the gods can be changed… ![“Cease to think that the decrees of the gods can be changed by prayers.” quote by Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/virgil-1205_cease_cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-g_970229.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/virgil-1205_cease_cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-g_970229.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/virgil-1205_cease_cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-g_970229.jpg) > “Cease to think that the decrees of the gods can be changed by prayers.” [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pray cannot alter divine decrees; divine will is immutable. **In simple terms:** Prayer cannot change godly laws. Key Takeaway Accept limits of influence over destiny. Themes faith determinism human limits Mood thoughtful serious Type classical moral When to use this quote - personal decisions - spiritual practice - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts theology divine will Questions to Reflect On - Can we influence fate through action? - What role does prayer play in coping? A Different Perspective Overreliance on prayer may neglect personal responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cease/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Changed Prayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed-prayers-1857919/) [Decrees Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decrees-gods-1857918/) [Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods/) [Gods Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods-changed-1857920/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayers/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Decrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-decrees-1857921/) ## Related quotes > [The minds of the everlasting gods are not changed suddenly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-minds-of-the-everlasting-gods-are-not-changed-suddenly/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“By then I wasn't just asking questions; I was being changed by them. I was being changed by my prayers, which dwindled down nearer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/by-then-i-wasn-t-just-asking-questions-i-was-being-changed-by-them-i/) [wendell berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“But then I wasn't just asking questions; I was being changed by them. I was being changed by my prayers, which dwindled down nearer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/but-then-i-wasn-t-just-asking-questions-i-was-being-changed-by-them-i/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The shower of answers to your prayers will continue to your dying hour. Nor will it cease then. When you pass out from beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ole-hallesby/the-shower-of-answers-to-your-prayers-will-continue-to-your-dying/) [Ole Hallesby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ole-hallesby/) > [“What good are prayers and shrines to a person mad with love?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/what-good-are-prayers-and-shrines-to-a-person-mad-with-love/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [Sometimes it is best for men not to attempt to interfere with destiny. Our prayers can be answered in ways which we do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-smith/sometimes-it-is-best-for-men-not-to-attempt-to-interfere-with-destiny/) [Wilbur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-smith/) > [“Why is it every time a madman's prayers are answered, a witch burns?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-danielle-dorn/why-is-it-every-time-a-madman-s-prayers-are-answered-a-witch-burns/) [J. Danielle Dorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-danielle-dorn/) > [“Anything else, Your Majesty?" "I didn't say my prayers." "I'll say them for you. Our father who art in et cetera, bless all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-osborne/anything-else-your-majesty-i-didn-t-say-my-prayers-i-ll-say-them-for/) [Maggie Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-osborne/) > [Heavenly Father hears your prayers, He loves you. He knows your name. He loves you beyond your ability to comprehend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/heavenly-father-hears-your-prayers-he-loves-you-he-knows-your-name-he/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [“God will not cooperate with prayers of mere self-interest, or prayers that come from impure motives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders-2/god-will-not-cooperate-with-prayers-of-mere-self-interest-or-prayers/) [J Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders-2/) > [All I say is, let's pray for Ukraine... and they need the prayers. I know that it wasn't easy for my grandfather's family, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santos/all-i-say-is-let-s-pray-for-ukraine-and-they-need-the-prayers-i-know/) [George Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santos/) > [Aaron Spelling always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture, he knew what the public wanted to see. He was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-milano/aaron-spelling-always-had-his-finger-on-the-pulse-of-pop-culture-he/) [Alyssa Milano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-milano/) > [“the best answers to prayers are the ones God doesn’t answer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-jones-gunn/the-best-answers-to-prayers-are-the-ones-god-doesn-t-answer/) [Robin Jones Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-jones-gunn/) > [“All the miles, all the hours, watching, waiting, hunting, pretending. God had heard his prayers and brought him to this moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-berry/all-the-miles-all-the-hours-watching-waiting-hunting-pretending-god/) [Julie Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-berry/) > [The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-fact-that-the-lord-can-work-and-act-even-with-insufficient-means/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) ## More by Virgil > [We may be masters of our every lot By bearing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/we-may-be-masters-of-our-every-lot-by-bearing-it/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [“Facilis descensus Averni: noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis; sed revocare gradium superasque evadere ad auras. hoc opus, hic labor est.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/facilis-descensus-averni-noctes-atque-dies-patet-atri-ianua-ditis-sed/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [The descent to the infernal regions is easy enough, but to retrace one's steps, and reach the air above, there's the rub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/the-descent-to-the-infernal-regions-is-easy-enough-but-to-retrace-one/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [If I am unable to make the gods above relent, I shall move hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/if-i-am-unable-to-make-the-gods-above-relent-i-shall-move-hell/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [Such is the love of praise, so great the anxiety for victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/such-is-the-love-of-praise-so-great-the-anxiety-for-victory/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [“Spare the meek, but subdue the arrogant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/spare-the-meek-but-subdue-the-arrogant/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [We have to thank God for this retirement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/we-have-to-thank-god-for-this-retirement/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [“..and why the winter suns so rush to bathe themselves in the sea and what slows down the nights to a long lingering crawl...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/and-why-the-winter-suns-so-rush-to-bathe-themselves-in-the-sea-and/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [“forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit. and perhaps it will be pleasing to have remembered these things one day”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/forsan-et-haec-olim-meminisse-iuvabit-and-perhaps-it-will-be-pleasing/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [“Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/timeo-danaos-et-dona-ferentes/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [The Britons are quite separated from all the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/the-britons-are-quite-separated-from-all-the-world/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [One man excels in eloquence, another in arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/one-man-excels-in-eloquence-another-in-arms/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [“But the Danaan princes and Agamemnon’s battalions, soon as they saw the man and his arms flashing amid the glom, trembled with mighty fear;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/but-the-danaan-princes-and-agamemnon-s-battalions-soon-as-they-saw/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [“What a tale he's told, what a bitter bowl of war he's drunk to the dregs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/what-a-tale-he-s-told-what-a-bitter-bowl-of-war-he-s-drunk-to-the/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [“Non ignora mali, miseris succurrere disco.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/non-ignora-mali-miseris-succurrere-disco/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) [Explore all 273 Virgil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) ## More Cease quotes > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/but-if-you-will-recall-the-history-of-our-civil-troubles-you-will-see/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Metallica's the only band i've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-s-the-only-band-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m-not-sure-that-when-it/) [Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) [Nicholas Roerich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-roerich/) > [Without a function, we cease to be. So, I will write till I die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farley-mowat/without-a-function-we-cease-to-be-so-i-will-write-till-i-die/) [Farley Mowat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farley-mowat/) > [We have won an armistice on a single battlefield, not peace in our world. We may not now relax our guard nor cease our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/we-have-won-an-armistice-on-a-single-battlefield-not-peace-in-our/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [My child, seek those things which make for peace. Cease to stir up the King against the Church, and urge upon him a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-child-seek-those-things-which-make-for-peace-cease-to-stir-up-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To write is to make oneself the echo of what cannot cease speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/to-write-is-to-make-oneself-the-echo-of-what-cannot-cease-speaking/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [When fear ceases to scare you, it cannot stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/when-fear-ceases-to-scare-you-it-cannot-stay/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [He who ceases to pray ceases to prosper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurney-benham/he-who-ceases-to-pray-ceases-to-prosper/) [William Gurney Benham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurney-benham/) > [For we must share, if we would keep, that blessing from above; ceasing to give, we cease to have; such is the law of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-chenevix-trench/for-we-must-share-if-we-would-keep-that-blessing-from-above-ceasing/) [Richard Chenevix Trench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-chenevix-trench/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Browse all 1,358 Cease quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cease/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cease to think that the decrees of the gods can be changed by prayers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Virgil" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-gods-can-be-changed-by-prayers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cease" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-gods-can-be-changed-by-prayers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/virgil-1205_cease_cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-g_970229.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/virgil-1205_cease_cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-g_970229.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/virgil-1205_cease_cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-g_970229.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cease to think that the decrees of the gods can be changed by prayers.” — Virgil", "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": "Virgil", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Cease to think that the decrees...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-gods-can-be-changed-by-prayers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/cease-to-think-that-the-decrees-of-the-gods-can-be-changed-by-prayers/#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 } } ] } ```