Christianity Quote by William Stringfellow
““When I write that my own situation in those months of pain and decision can be described as prayer, I do not only recall that during that time I sometimes read the Psalms and they became my psalms, or that, as I have also mentioned, I occasionally cried “Jesus” and that name was my prayer, but I mean that I also at times would shout “Fuck!” and that was no obscenity, but a most earnest prayerful utterance. In the final analysis, no matter what the vocabulary of prayer, or where muteness displaces words in prayer, the content—what is communicated by a person in the world before God—in prayer is in each and every circumstance the same and it can be put plainly in one word: Help! That is the word of Gethsemane’s prayer; that is the word of the Lord’s Prayer; that is the prayer when Christ repeats the Twenty-second Psalm from the cross. It is the prayer of Christ interceding for all people, and it is the prayer of a human creature acknowledging God’s vocation in affirming the life which God has called into being.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: Prayer and Language, 1970
Prayer transcends specific words; its core is a sincere plea for divine assistance, expressed in any language.
In simple terms: Prayer is a heartfelt request for help, regardless of wording.
Seek honest, heartfelt communication with the divine.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- personal crisis
- meditation
- confessional moments
- spiritual practice
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does your deepest need look like?
- How do you express urgency in prayer?
Overemphasis on form can distract from genuine intent.