Pithy Prayer Phrases

PITHY PRAYER PHRASES

Related Resource: Prayer Quotes, Devotionals and Illustrations

1. Pray first!
2. Don’t let prayer be your last recourse in time of need; make it your first.
3. Never face a day until you have prayed.
4. Never face a day until you have come before the face of God.
5. A person who takes time for prayer will find time for all the other things needing his attention.
6. Prayer is not a last extremity—it’s a first necessity.
7. Our highest privilege is to talk to God.
8. If God is your Father, please call home.
9. Do you pray “Our Father” on Sunday and spend the rest of the week living like an orphan?
10. By praying, learn to pray.
11. Prayer is the stop that keeps you going.
12. God is easier to talk to than most people.
13. He stands best who kneels most; he stands strongest who kneels weakest; he stands longest who kneels lowest. Bent knees mean strong backs.
14. The most powerful position on earth is kneeling before the Lord of the universe.
15. We go down on our knees, or we go down to oblivion.
16. Let’s turn our theology into kneeology!
17. Chin up, knees down.
18. The best remedy for a knotted stomach or a pounding head is the bent knee.
19. Bending our knees in prayer keeps us from breaking under the load of care.
20. He who walks upright must learn to kneel daily.
21. Only when we have knelt before God can we stand before men.
22. We reach new heights when we get down on our knees to pray.
23. God will supply that for which we have knee’d.
24. If your knees begin to knock, kneel on them!
25. Don’t let your sorrow come higher than your knees.
26. Adversity should never get the Christian down—except on his knees.
27. The world seeks victory by trying to get back on its feet; the Christian by getting down on his knees.
28. When you are swept off your feet, you need to get on your knees.
29. The best way to stay on your feet is to get down on your knees.
30. When life knocks you to your knees, you’re in position to pray.
31. He stands best who kneels most.
32. If your troubles are deep-seated or longstanding, try kneeling.
33. Mountains can only be climbed with the knees bent.
34. When a good man falls, he falls on his knees.
35. Many a man has kept going straight because his mother bent her knees in prayer.
36. He who cannot reach the mission field on his feet can reach it on his knees.
37. When the knees are not often bent the feet soon slide.
38. When we bend our knees to pray, God bends His ear to listen.
39. Kneel before you leap.
40. If you have any long-standing problems, try kneeling.
41. A church stays on its feet when its members get on their knees.
42. The prayer closets of God’s people are where the roots of the church grow.
43. If the church wants a better minister, it can get one by praying for the one it has.
44. Many people go to church praying that they will hear preaching that will hit someone else.
45. Stay on your knees before God and on your feet before men.
46. The quickest way to get back on your feet is to get down on your knees.
47. No man who is selfish, cynical, and superficial on his feet is ever a saint on his knees.
48. The man who does all his praying on his knees does not pray enough.
49. Every step in the progress of missions is directly traceable to prayer. It has been the preparation for every new triumph and the secret for all success.
50. God not only prompts the asking—he also provides the answer.
51. Keep praying, but be thankful that God’s answers are wiser than our prayers.
52. Prayers can’t be answered unless they are prayed.
53. The first thing that marks decline in spiritual life is our relationship to the early morning.
54. When you come to the end of your rope, tie a prayer-knot and hang on.
55. The melody of prayer is best played with the notes of praise, adoration, confession, and thanksgiving.
56. Morning prayers lead to evening praise.
57. Prayer and praise are like the wings of a bird—both must work together.
58. Too often we forget to thank God for answered prayer. Praise is the proper punctuation mark for an answered prayer.
59. Let praise be not an incident but an attitude of life.
60. Praise is both the reality and activity of a life in tune with God.
61. He who spreads the sails of prayer will eventually fly the flag of praise.
62. We do our best praying when the I, me, and mine have worked their way out of our way.
63. The Christian can see more on his knees than the educated can see on his tiptoes.
64. The prayers of a man on his feet are just as important as those he says on his knees.
65. True prayer does not begin when we kneel, nor does it cease when we rise.
66. True prayer is a way of life, not just an emergency detour.
67. You'll never get a busy signal on the prayer line to heaven.
68. Prayer is an open line to heaven. No busy signals! No recorded messages!
69. When it comes to prayer, don’t hang up; hang on.
70. If you are too busy to pray, you too busy!
71. Pray when you feel like it, pray when you don't feel like it, and pray until you do feel like it!
72. The devil is never very far away when you are too busy to pray.
73. It is not a matter of time as much as it is a matter of one's heart, for if we have the heart to pray, we will find the time.
74. The devil laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.
75. The devil enjoys hearing a prayer that is addressed to an audience.
76. It's not enough to say a prayer, we have to live one too!
77. The devil would rather you wear out your shoes going to church than your trousers praying.
78. The purpose of prayer is not to get what we want, but to become what God wants.
79. Praying is to the soul what breathing is to the body!
80. Prayer is a time of exposure of the soul to God.
81. You can expect God to intervene when you have taken time to intercede.
82. We lie to God in prayer if we don’t rely on God after prayer.
83. Prayer is as important as breathing.
84. Prayer is the breath of the soul; without it you will turn blue.
85. True prayer is a way of life, not just a case of emergency.
86. We carry checks on the bank of heaven and never cash them at the window of prayer!
87. Tarry at a promise until God meets you there.
88. Life is fragile…Handle with prayer!
89. Prayer is not an escape from responsibility; it is our response to God’s ability.
90. Pray often or you will faint. Prayer is the oxygen of the soul.
91. Pray as a child talks to his father.
92. Prayer is the child’s helpless cry to the Father’s attentive ear.
93. Effective prayer is the provision for every need and the solution for every problem.
94. God has a solution planned before we even know we have a problem.
95. Prayer will loosen many a knot that my own hands cannot untie.
96. If your day is hemmed with prayer, it is less likely to unravel.
97. More is said about prayer and less done about it than any other subject in the Bible.
98. Pray is one four-letter word you can use anywhere.
99. Prayer is an acknowledgment of our need for God.
100. Prayer is the bridge between panic and peace.
101. Christians need to pray two prayers: “Lord, give me light,” and, “Give me grace to walk in the light.”
102. Prayer is like a computer—you can only get out of it what you put into it.
103. Prayer without work is like an empty wagon—lots of noise but no load.
104. When we work, we work; when we pray, God works.
105. Remember that God may want you to be the answer to your own prayer!
106. To pray about something and not make yourself available is hypocrisy.
107. God may delay our request, but He will never disappoint our trust.
108. When trust is perfect and there is no doubt, prayer is simply the outstretched hand ready to receive.
109. Where prayers focus, power falls!
110. Seven days without prayer makes one weak.
111. Things begun in prayer usually end in power.
112. Prayer is the pause that empowers.
113. Through prayer, finite man taps the power of the infinite God.
114. Prayer is the gymnasium of the soul, "God's gym," if you will.
115. Trust perfected is prayer perfected
116. Prayer is the voice of faith.
117. Prayer is asking for rain, and faith is carrying the umbrella.
118. Have faith to believe that where prayer focuses, power falls!
119. Faith is like a muscle, and prayer is the exercise that helps it grow. The feeblest knock of faith opens heaven’s door.
120. He who is a stranger to prayer is a stranger to power.
121. Many a fellow is praying for rain with his bucket wrong side up.
122. Some people pray for a bushel, then carry a pint cup.
123. Pray not for faith to move mountains, rather pray for faith that will move you.
124. Powerful praying is not a pretty phrase; but persistent prevailing.
125. Prayer is simply faith breathing.
126. Courage is fear that has said its prayers.
127. The greatest enemy to answered prayer is unbelief.
128. Our praying should be the prayer of faith, not faith in prayer.
129. If you work for God, form a committee; if you work with God, form a prayer group.
130. Boldness in prayer is the result of faithfulness in life and service.
131. Even a groan can be a prayer, provided it is directed toward God in faith, and not in rebellion.
132. Prayer need not be long when faith is strong.
133. Nothing is discussed more and practiced less than prayer.
134. Prayer doesn’t need proof—it needs practice.
135. Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?
136. Prayer changes everything.
137. If there is no appointed time for prayer, soon there will be no time at all for prayer.
138. An important part of praying is a willingness to be a part of the answer.
139. Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance but taking hold of God’s willingness.
140. Prayer without expectancy may be unbelief in disguise.
141. Prayer is the place where burdens change shoulders. (Psalm 55:22+, Mt 11:28-29+)
142. God tells us to burden him with whatever burdens us.
143. We are to worry about nothing because we can pray about everything. (Phil 4:6+)
144. If a care is too small to be made into a prayer, it is too small to be made into a burden.
145. Fervent prayer dispels anxious care.
146. Frequent prayers lessen daily cares.
147. You can turn any care into prayer anywhere.
148. Fervent prayers dispels anxious cares.
149. Prayers are the leeches of care.
150. When you turn your care into prayer, God turns midnight into music.
151. Why worry when you can pray?
152. Access to God’s throne is always open.
153. Walk softly; speak tenderly; pray fervently.
154. Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the night.
155. The heart of prayer is prayer from the heart.
156. Prayer must come not from the roof of the mouth, but from the root of the heart.
157. The highest form of prayer comes from the depths of a humble heart.
158. God does more than hear words—he reads hearts.
159. Let your prayer be without words rather than your words being without prayer.
160. Nothing makes us love our enemies as much as praying for them.
161. You cannot pray for peace with your hands clenched into fists.
162. Prayer does not require eloquence but earnestness.
163. Productive prayer requires earnestness, not eloquence.
164. Even when you feel you have nothing left, you still have prayer—and that's enough.
165. When we pray, coincidences happen, and when we don’t, they don’t.
166. Most of us know more about prayer than we practice.
167. It's amazing how many coincidences occur when one begins to pray.
168. There are three answers to prayer: yes, no, and wait.
169. When you pray and aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it.
170. There is no time lost in waiting if you are waiting on the Lord.
171. He who waits on the Lord will not be crushed by the weights of adversity.
172. He who cannot pray when the sun shines will not know how to pray when the clouds come.
173. Sincere intercession is the key to God's intervention.
174. The best way to influence people for God is to intercede with God for people.
175. To influence people for God, pray to God for people.
176. The best way to bring people to God is to bring them to God in prayer.
177. Prayer provides power, poise, peace, and purpose.
178. Prayerless pews make powerless pulpits.
179. Petitions that do not move the heart of the suppliant, are unlikely to move the heart of Omnipotence.
180. Never take on more work than you have time to pray about.
181. When you can't be there, you can help through prayer.
182. Many prayers end up in the dead-letter office because they lack sufficient direction.
183. When it seems hardest to pray, we should pray the hardest.
184. Nothing makes us love a person so much as praying for him.
185. To love more, pray more.
186. No man is greater than his prayer life.
187. Living a life of prayer is worth more than writing a book on it.
188. It’s a good idea to tune your instruments by prayer before the concert of the day begins.
189. He who tunes up in the morning stays in harmony all day.
190. Prayerless pews make powerless pulpits.
191. Through prayer, we have instant access to our Father.
192. Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking. The only way to trouble God is not to come at all.
193. Trouble will drive you to prayer, but prayer will drive away the trouble.
194. God empowers us to stand for Him as we bow to pray.
195. Prayer is not a way of getting what we want, but the way to become what God wants us to be.
196. In the face of danger, face danger with prayer.
197. When the outlook is bad, try the uplook.
198. Preaching moves men, prayer moves God.
199. He who moves God must be first moved by God.
200. A day hemmed in prayer is less likely to come unraveled.
201. Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the night.
202. Prayer is the child’s helpless cry to the Father’s attentive ear.
203. Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God. (1 John 5:14, 15-note)
204. Too often in prayer we ask for a change in circumstances rather than in our character.
205. Too many want God to change things and people when they pray, but they are not willing to let God change them.
206. He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.
207. Change your prayers sometimes—wake up in the morning and say, “God, what can I do for you today?”
208. Instead of praying for God to change things, situations, and people, pray, “Lord, change me.”
209. Prayer does not make God see things as we see them; it helps us see things as God sees them.
210. Thou art coming to a King. Large petitions with thee bring.
211. Prayer ought to be a conversation with our best friend.
212. If we pray to catch the ear of man, we can't expect to reach the ear of God.
213. If you are a stranger to prayer, you are a stranger to power.
214. God is always accessible in our time of need.
215. If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.
216. Time spent in prayer is always time well spent.
217. God’s answers are always wiser than our prayers.
218. Something happens when we pray, sin, disease, and fear give way.
219. God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.
220. When God puts You on hold, don't hang up!
221. In prayer, God hears more than your words— He listens to your heart.
222. Prayer is the real work, Evangelism is just the mopping up.
223. The bottom line of every prayer should be, “Your will be done.”
224. Many pray, not to find God’s will, but to get his approval of their own.
225. When trouble calls, call on God.
226. Prayer is measured by its depth, not its length.
227. God is not impressed by the length or the loudness in our prayers but by the lowness of our hearts.
228. God hears the heart without words but never words without heart.
229. True prayer is measured by weight, and not by length.
230. Strength in prayer is better than length in prayer.
231. The only petition in the Lord’s prayer that has a condition attached is the one on forgiveness. (Mt 6:14-note)
232. Some tears are liquid prayers.
233. Prayer is the expression of human dependence on God.
234. God tells us to burden him with whatever burdens us.
235. Prayerfulness begets carefulness.
236. The angel brought Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that brought the angel. (Acts 12:5)
237. No one is poor who can by prayer open the storehouse of God.
238. Cold prayers will not receive any warm answers.
239. To walk with God, we must make it a practice to talk with God.
240. Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude, an attitude of dependency upon God.
241. Prayer will drive sin out of your life; or sin will drive prayer out!
242. You can't live wrong and pray right.
243. Prayer will either make a man stop sinning, or sin will make him stop praying.
244. Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer.
245. If you do not abide in prayer, you will abide in temptation.
246. Backsliding (discussion) often first begins with neglect of private prayer.
247. No one can live wrong and pray right; no one can pray right and live wrong.
248. The esteem with which we hold prayer is evidenced by the time given to praying.
249. Obedience to God removes pretense from our prayers.
250. The stream of praying cannot rise higher than the fountain of living.
251. Straight praying is never born of crooked conduct.
252. Mend your nets with prayer, cast them in faith, and draw them in love.
253. Proverbs 15:28 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.
254. Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.
255. Don’t keep your eye on temptation while praying not to be led into it. (cp Mt 26:41-note)
256. A recipe for revival: Draw a circle and get inside, then pray God will send revival within the circle.
257. People who do not believe in prayer will make an exception when tragedy strikes.
258. Don’t ask God for what you think is good; ask him for what he thinks is good for you.
259. Don’t bother to give God instructions; just report for duty.
260. When praying, do you give instructions? or report for duty?
261. When praying, don’t give God instructions. God listens to prayer, not advice.
262. Don’t expect a million-dollar answer for a ten-cent prayer.
263. Prayer that costs nothing is worth nothing; it is simply a by-product of a cheap Christianity.
264. The fewer the words the better the prayer.
265. Prayer succeeds when all else fails
266. Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayers and worn with thanks.
267. Bible teachers, to be prepared, must be pre-prayered.
268. God’s ear lies close to the believer’s lip.
269. A short prayer will reach heaven if you don’t live far away.
270. Prayer is a golden river at whose brink some die of thirst while others kneel and drink.
271. Prayer is possession by anticipation.
272. The glory of God, not the needs of men, is the highest purpose of answered prayer.
273. It is strange that in our praying we seldom ask for a change of character, but always a change in circumstances.
274. Daniel would rather spend a night with the lions than miss a day in prayer.
275. Nothing is discussed more and practiced less than prayer.
276. A praying man will never be a useless man.
277. Genuine prayer is the one weapon the enemy cannot duplicate or counterfeit.
278. Perfect prayer is that in which he who is praying is unaware that he is praying at all.
279. Some people treat God as they do a lawyer; they go to him only when they are in trouble.
280. Too many people pray like little boys who knock at doors, then run away.
281. If your day is hemmed with prayer it is less likely to become unravelled.
282. God does not measure our prayers—he weighs them.
283. If you do not get all you ask, it is because the Saviour intends to give you something better.
284. We ask for silver and God sometimes sends his denials wrapped in gold.
285. Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God.
286. How often we say "Let's just pray," as if that's our last resort, when in fact it should be our first resort! So next time, instead of saying "Let's just pray" drop the "just" and say "Let's pray."
287. While prayer ascends, God’s mercy descends.
288. Pray when you don’t feel like it; pray when you feel like it; pray until you feel like it.
289. Cold prayers always freeze before they reach heaven.
290. Prayer is the surest secret of success in any married life.
291. Keep a secret and it is yours; tell it to God and it’s prayer; tell it to people and it’s gossip.
292. The secret of praying is praying in secret.
293. Prayer is aligning ourselves with the purposes of God.
294. Anything worth worrying about is worth praying about.
295. Worry is fear-thought, not fore-thought. It is cured by prayer-thought.
296. When the problem is worry, the prescription is prayer.
297. Life is fragile—handle with prayer.
298. Some people talk more about their problems than praying for them.
299. If you cannot sleep at night, don’t count sheep; talk to the Shepherd.
300. Give your troubles to God; he’ll be up all night anyway.
301. Every temptation is an opportunity to flee to God in prayer. (Mt 26:41-note)
302. On persevering prayer:"I look at a stone cutter hammering away at a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it splits in two. I know it was not the one blow that did it, but all that had gone before."
303. Pray to God in the storm—but keep on rowing.
304. Sad that one can sell drugs in school and show X-rated movies in health classes, but is forbidden to pray.
305. God looks not at the pomp of words and variety of expression, but at the sincerity and devotion of the heart. The key opens the door, not because it is gilt but because it fits the lock.
306. God’s help is only a prayer away.
307. One should never initiate anything that he cannot saturate with prayer.
308. When you can’t be there, you can help through prayer.
309. When it's time to breathe a prayer of thanks, don't hold your breath.
310. The words of our prayers are not as important as the condition of our hearts.
311. A desire for discernment is God’s call to prayer.
312. God always gives us what we ask--or something better.
313. God's help is only a prayer away!
314. To recharge your spiritual battery, plug into the Source with prayer.
315. No matter where we are, Jesus is only a prayer away.
316. If Jesus needed to pray, how can we do less!
317. Intercede for others in prayer; God’s throne is always accessible.
318. Time in Christ's service requires time out for renewal. (Read Da 6:10)
319. The best kind of friend is a praying friend.
320. The trouble with some of our prayers is we say "Amen" and go on our way before God has a chance to answer.
321. Prayer is meant to be an intimate conversation with God—our best Friend.
322. Praying for others is a privilege and a responsibility.
323. To influence others for God, intercede with God for others.
324. Prayer should be our first priority, not the final straw!
325. Our greatest privilege is to enjoy God’s presence.
326. Pray to God, but row toward the shore.
327. A pastor’s prayer: “Do something for us today that isn’t in the bulletin.”
328. "Prayer changes things" is more accurately rendered "Prayer changes us!"
329. Cultivating a heart of prayer is a sure way to experience God’s presence.
330. Take notice of what you pray for it is a good check of your spiritual health.
331. God pours His love into our hearts that it might flow out to others.
332. Our highest privilege is to talk to God; Our highest duty is to listen to Him.
333. Pray as if everything depends on God; Work as if everything depends on you
334. Jesus hears our faintest cry.
335. When you say, “I don't have a prayer” in fact a prayer is the one thing you did have!
336. There is never a day when you don't need to pray
337. Some people pray for more than they are willing to work for.
338. The chain of a parent's prayers can link their child to God.
339. The best safeguard for the younger generation are the prayers of the older generation.
340. Some Christians pray to be humble, then tell everyone how humble they have become.
341. One of the great tragedies of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.
342. When you come to the Lord, there is no waiting line—His ears are always open to your cry.
343. There are no short-cuts: Spiritual vitality depends on a regular and rigorous habit of daily prayer.
344. Let prayer be our portion. Let prayer be our pastime, our passion. Let prayer be our practice.
345. Prayer: Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change—and when we are right, make us easy to live with.
346. Some people could well pray in the morning, “Now I lay me down to sleep” for all the spiritual effort they make during the day.
347. You can’t pray on your knees on Sunday and prey on your friends the rest of the week!
348. The best way to remember people is in prayer.
349. Sign outside a Dallas church: “Last chance to pray before entering the freeway.”
350. Sign in front of a church: “Our church is prayer-conditioned.”
351. A young man prayed, “Lord give me a wife that loves Thee—for then I know she will love me.”
352. Tired jogger’s prayer: “Give us this day our daily breath.” (Also applies spiritually! cp Hebrews 12:1-note)
353. Please don’t pray for rain if you are going to complain about the mud.
354. Don’t pray for rain unless you are willing to put up with a little mud.
355. Life for some people is to sow wild oats during the week and then go to church Sunday and pray for a crop failure.