“Faith builds in the dungeon and lazarhouse its sublimest shrines; and up, through roofs of stone, that shut out the eye of heaven, ascends the ladder where the angels glide to and fro,--prayer.” EyeHeavenPrayerAngelStonesRoofLaddersDungeonsShrines Author:Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
“For adversities must of necessity come. They are part of the pattern of life's pilgrimage for every individual; and who can escape them? But I say unto thee, that for those who walk in Me, and for those who are encircled by the intercessory prayers of My children, I shall make of the suffering, yea, shall make of the trials a stepping stone to future blessing.” ChildrenSufferingIndividualPrayerWalksBlessingStonesAdversityPatternsTrialsTheeMy ChildrenPilgrimageStepping StonesIntercessory Prayer Book:Come Away My Beloved Source: Come Away My Beloved
“Years ago I went to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and did what all tourists there do: wrote some words on a scrap of paper that I tucked into a crevice in the wall. When I closed my eyes and touched my head to the warm stone, it came to me: "All language is prayer." This must be so. Who is it we are speaking to when we speak to anyone? To that person, and also past him or her to Out There. If there is language, it means there is the possibility of being heard, being met, being loved. And reaching out to be heard, met, or loved is a holy act. Language is holy.” IfsYearsMeanPersonsEyePastSpeakLanguagePrayerHeardPossibilityWallHolyMetsPaperYears AgoStonesWarmReachingTouchedReach OutTouristsBeing MeJerusalemScrapBeing LovedWailingCrevice Author:Zoketsu Norman Fischer
“The savage prays to a stone that he calls a god, while the Christian prays to a god he calls a spirit, and the prayers of both are equally useful.” ChristianSpiritPrayerPrayingStonesSavages Book:The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll Source: The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll
“Mexico admits you through an arched stone orifice into the tree-filled courtyard of its heart, where a dog pisses against a wall and a waiter hustles through a curtain of jasmine to bring a bowl of tortilla soup, steaming with cilantro and lime. Cats stalk lizards among the clay pots around the fountain, doves settle into the flowering vines and coo their prayers, thankful for the existence of lizards. The potted plants silently exhale, outgrowing their clay pots. Like Mexico's children they stand pinched and patient in last year's too-small shoes.” YearsHeartChildrenLastsPrayerExistenceTreeDogWallStonesCatFilledPlantPatientShoesSettlingPotMexicoLast YearBowlsSoupFountainCurtainsClayHustleDoveStalkingVinesWaiterFloweringLizardsLimesJasmineTortillasOutgrowingClay Pots Author:Barbara Kingsolver
“Prayer and love are really learned in the hour when prayer becomes impossible and your heart turns to stone.” LoveHeartWisdomHoursPrayerImpossibleStonesAnd Love Author:Thomas Merton
“Dwell, O mind, within yourself; Enter no other's home. If you but seek there, you will find All you are searching for. God, the true Philosopher's Stone, Who answers every prayer, Lies hidden deep within your heart, The richest gem of all. How many pearls and precious stones Are scattered all about The outer court that lies before The chamber of your heart!” IfsMindHeartHomeSpiritualLyingSpiritualityPrayerAnswersStonesCourtPhilosopherPearlsChamberGemsDeep WithinPrecious Stones Author:Ramakrishna
“Are God and Nature then at strife, That Nature lends such evil dreams? So careful of the type she seems, So careless of the single life; ... 'So careful of the type', but no. From scarped cliff and quarried stone She cries, 'A thousand types are gone: I care for nothing, all shall go' ... Man, her last work, who seemed so fair, Such splendid purpose in his eyes, Who rolled the psalm to wintry skies, Who built him fanes of fruitless prayer, Who trusted God was love indeed And love Creation's final law- Tho' Nature red in tooth and claw With ravine, shrieked against his creed.” MenDreamSeemsEyeCareLastsLawSciencePurposeEvilNaturePrayerGoneSkyCryCreationTypeEvolutionThousandBuiltRedFairsStonesAnd LoveFinalsCarefulTeethHis EyesCreedsTrustedI CareStrifeSplendidCliffsCarelessClawsSingle LifePsalmsGod And Nature Author:Alfred Lord Tennyson
“A marble cutter, with chisel and hammer, was changing a stone into a statue. A preacher looking on said: "I wish I could deal such changing blows on stony hearts." The workman answered: "Maybe you could, if you worked like me, upon your knees."” IfsHeartSaidWishPrayerDealsStonesBlowLike MeKneesPreacherHammersStatuesMarbleWorkmenCuttersChisels Author:Arthur Tappan Pierson