--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never made but one prayer to God…" description: "\"“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it.\" ( Letter to Étienne Noël Damilavi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/voltaire-173_enmity_i-have-never-made-but-one-prayer-to-god_1423752.png" --- # I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one… ![“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it." ( Letter to Étienne Noël Damilaville , May 16, 1767)” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/voltaire-173_enmity_i-have-never-made-but-one-prayer-to-god_1423752.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/voltaire-173_enmity_i-have-never-made-but-one-prayer-to-god_1423752.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/voltaire-173_enmity_i-have-never-made-but-one-prayer-to-god_1423752.png) > ““I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it." ( Letter to Étienne Noël Damilaville , May 16, 1767)”” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He jokes that his only prayer is for his enemies to be made ridiculous, and claims God answered, showing a satirical view of divine intervention. **In simple terms:** He prayed for his enemies to be ridiculed and says God obliged. Key Takeaway Use humor to defuse conflict. Themes satire faith conflict humor Mood wry thoughtful Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - prayer - enemy relations - social commentary Key Concepts theology irony personal belief Questions to Reflect On - What does ridiculing enemies achieve? - Is humor a better weapon than anger? A Different Perspective Divine response may be metaphorical, not literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayers/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Ridicule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridicule/) [Satire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satire/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) [Social life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-life/) ## Related quotes > [I have only ever made one prayer to God, a very short one: O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-have-only-ever-made-one-prayer-to-god-a-very-short-one-o-lord-make/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-have-never-made-but-one-prayer-to-god-a-very-short-one-o-lord-make/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [In my life, I have prayed but one prayer: oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-my-life-i-have-prayed-but-one-prayer-oh-lord-make-my-enemies/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous. When you have God, you don’t have to know everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-angelica/unless-you-are-willing-to-do-the-ridiculous-god-will-not-do-the/) [Mother Angelica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-angelica/) > [“The arm of God is never too short to save us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-arm-of-god-is-never-too-short-to-save-us/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I'm a godmother, that's a great thing to be, a godmother. She calls me god for short, that's cute, I taught her that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-m-a-godmother-that-s-a-great-thing-to-be-a-godmother-she-calls-me/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [What if the very reason we have breath is because we have been saved for a global mission? And what if anything less than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/what-if-the-very-reason-we-have-breath-is-because-we-have-been-saved/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I consider myself an artist. God granted me some gifts so that I could express myself artistically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-johnson/i-consider-myself-an-artist-god-granted-me-some-gifts-so-that-i-could/) [Don Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-johnson/) > [What could be a greater privilege than to listen to the voice of God, and be granted by God himself the ears to hear?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/what-could-be-a-greater-privilege-than-to-listen-to-the-voice-of-god/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [What mattered to her was that she loved God, whether or not He granted her the consolation and joy of His felt presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-kolodiejchuk/what-mattered-to-her-was-that-she-loved-god-whether-or-not-he-granted/) [Brian Kolodiejchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-kolodiejchuk/) > [“Free a man of the constraints that limit and inhibit his development, and you have a free human being. Freedom is the natural state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-silber/free-a-man-of-the-constraints-that-limit-and-inhibit-his-development/) [Alexandra Silber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-silber/) > [“I live my life true and free because that is the gift God has granted me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cuoco/i-live-my-life-true-and-free-because-that-is-the-gift-god-has-granted/) [Steven Cuoco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cuoco/) > [“Why does the Bible keep nagging us to give thanks? It’s because we quickly forget all that God has done for us; we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-noland/why-does-the-bible-keep-nagging-us-to-give-thanks-it-s-because-we/) [Rory Noland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-noland/) > [For every thing I do. I always appreciate that God has granted me with another opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/for-every-thing-i-do-i-always-appreciate-that-god-has-granted-me-with/) [Simphiwe Scientist Dumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/) > [“Do not take the grace of God for granted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/do-not-take-the-grace-of-god-for-granted/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More Enmity quotes > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Do nondoing, strive for nonstriving, savor the flavorless, regard the small as important, make much of little, repay enmity with virtue; plan for difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-nondoing-strive-for-nonstriving-savor-the-flavorless-regard-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The enmity of such a party towards Socialism does not mean that the members are only prejudiced against it because they do not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-radek/the-enmity-of-such-a-party-towards-socialism-does-not-mean-that-the/) [Karl Radek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-radek/) > [Do nondoing, strive for non-stiving, savor the flavourless, make much of little, repay enmity with virture; plan for difficulty when it is still easy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-nondoing-strive-for-non-stiving-savor-the-flavourless-make-much-of/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [As far back as she could remember, a phantom life had mocked her with its impenetrable “something else,” but now it was the opposite.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/as-far-back-as-she-could-remember-a-phantom-life-had-mocked-her-with/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“Sufis are those who have expunged from their minds the human tendencies of envy and enmity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufis-are-those-who-have-expunged-from-their-minds-the-human/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [There is an old saying which, from its truth, has become proverbial, that friendships should be immortal, enmities mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/there-is-an-old-saying-which-from-its-truth-has-become-proverbial/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [“It's important that these people think of their adversaries specifically as assholes. That's what gives the modern rhetoric of polarization its singular stamp and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-nunberg/it-s-important-that-these-people-think-of-their-adversaries/) [Geoffrey Nunberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-nunberg/) > [I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn't...The pain which it inflicts upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-am-not-interested-to-know-whether-vivisection-produces-results-that/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [But if you should take the bond of goodwill out of the universe no house or city could stand, nor would even the tillage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/but-if-you-should-take-the-bond-of-goodwill-out-of-the-universe-no/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [We had fed the heart on fantasies, The heart's grown brutal from the fare, More substance in our enmities Than in our love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-had-fed-the-heart-on-fantasies-the-heart-s-grown-brutal-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If there be any who nurture in their hearts the poisonous brew of enmity toward another, I plead with you to ask the Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/if-there-be-any-who-nurture-in-their-hearts-the-poisonous-brew-of/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [The memories which peaceful country scenes call up, are not of this world, nor of its thoughts and hopes. Their gentle influence may teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-memories-which-peaceful-country-scenes-call-up-are-not-of-this/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [To be nonviolent to human beings and to be a killer or enemy of the poor animals is Satan's philosophy. In this age there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/to-be-nonviolent-to-human-beings-and-to-be-a-killer-or-enemy-of-the/) [A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/) > [Enmity means 'hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.' It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/enmity-means-hatred-toward-hostility-to-or-a-state-of-opposition-it/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) Browse all 213 Enmity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. 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