Words of Jesus as remembered by John

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto the Father.  And Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.  If ye shall ask me anything in my name, that will I do.”

Book 15, verse 7: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

Book 16, verse 23: “…  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be fulfilled.”

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  And which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf and he give him a stone?  Or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent?  Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask of him?”

“Now after these things the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent hem two and two before his face in every city and place, whiter he himself was about to come.  And he said unto them…Go your ways…and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you…And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us in thy name.  And the said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightening from heaven.  Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you.  Howbeit in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”  Jesus, quoted in Luke

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“For if you should enter the temple (of prayer) for no other purpose than asking you shall not receive: And if you should enter into it to humble yourself you shall not be lifted: Or even if you should enter into it to beg for the good of others you shall not be heard.  It is enough that you enter the temple invisible.  I cannot teach you how to pray in words.  God listens not to your words save when He Himself utters them through your lips.  And I cannot teach you the prayer of the seas and the forests and the mountains.  But you who are born of the mountains and the forests and the seas can find their prayer in your heart, and if you but listen in the stillness of the night you shall hear them saying in silence, “Our God, who art our winged self, it is thy will in us that willeth, it is thy desire in us that desireth, it is thy urge in us that would turn our nights, which are thine, into days which are thine also.  We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou Knesset our needs before they are born in us: Thou art our need, and in giving us more of thyself thou gave us all.”  Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923.

“If ye knew God as He ought to be known, ye would walk on the seas, and the mountains would move at your call.”  Muhammad

“The right relation between prayer and conduct is not that conduct is supremely important and prayer may help it; but that prayer is supremely important and conduct tests it.”  William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury.

“He who is about to pray should learn from a common laborer, who sometimes takes a whole day to prepare for a job.  A wood cutter-who spends most of the day sharpening the saw and only the last hour cutting the wood, has earned his day’s wage.”  Mendel of Kotzk