The first fresh hour of every morning should be dedicated to the Lord, whose mercy gladdens it with golden light.

I spend a lot of time balancing between faith and disbelief.

The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.

I do think that a minister who can preach a sermon without addressing sinners does not know how to preach.

The world is indebted for all triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression.

Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust. If it is not true that a divine being fell, then we can only say that one of the animals went entirely off its head.

He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.

See how many are better off than you are, but consider how many are worse.

I used to pray that God would make me a great athlete, and He never did.

It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

Saints need sinners.

Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. If you first understand that, then you will see how impossible it is to organize a belief.

Delhi means everything to me. This city has given me everything, and I love it.

How much better it would be if all could be more aware of God’s providence and love and express that gratitude to Him.

A man who is eating or lying with his wife or preparing to go to sleep in humility, thankfulness and temperance, is, by Christian standards, in an infinitely higher state than one who is listening to Bach or reading Plato in a state of pride.

All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.

O God, we praise Thee for keeping us till this day, and for the full assurance that Thou wilt never let us go.

Indeed, it is as important to learn how to receive a blessing as it is to be willing to give one.

My mom was a terrible parent of young children. And thank God – I thank God every time I think of it – I was sent to my paternal grandmother. Ah, but my mother was a great parent of a young adult.

A sense of the universe, a sense of the all, the nostalgia which seizes us when confronted by nature, beauty, music – these seem to be an expectation and awareness of a Great Presence.

For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?

When men do not have healthy notions of the Divinity, false ideas supplant them, just as in bad times one uses counterfeit money when there is no good money.

I understood at a very early age that in nature, I felt everything I should feel in church but never did. Walking in the woods, I felt in touch with the universe and with the spirit of the universe.

My mother raised me with God. We were poor financially, but we were rich spiritually.

The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.

God and I have a great relationship, but we both see other people.

Prayer is such a basic foundation of a Christian’s relationship with God. It’s how we communicate and fellowship with Him. But a surprising number of people, young and old, new and even long-time Christians, say they’re not satisfied with their prayer life.

God is not upset that Gandhi was not a Christian, because God is not a Christian! All of God’s children and their different faiths help us to realize the immensity of God.

Vanity, showing off, is an attitude that reduces spirituality to a worldly thing, which is the worst sin that could be committed in the church.

I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.

Faith never makes a confession.

I think Bible principles are principles for life.

I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvellous Presence.

God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given us, on this side of the grave.

Instead of judging people, we need to pray.

Fear of death makes us devoid both of valour and religion. For want of valour is want of religious faith.

The soul is your innermost being. The presence that you are beyond form. The consciousness that you are beyond form, that is the soul. That is who you are in essence.

Man gives you the award but God gives you the reward.

Prayer is a strong wall and fortress of the church; it is a goodly Christian weapon.

Now, God be praised, that to believing souls gives light in darkness, comfort in despair.

This Sunday School has been of help to me, greater perhaps than any other force in my Christian life, and I can ask no better things for you than that you, and all that shall come after you in this great band of workers for Christ, shall receive the same measure of blessedness which I have been permitted to have.

Every day I try to be in communication with the universe in an unconscious way.

Any of us can be happy and have a good attitude when everything is going our way. But I believe it’s the real test of your character and of your faith to say, ‚Things are not going our way, but I’m still being good to people; I’m still attending church; I still have a good attitude.‘

Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston, I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, ‚Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.‘

If only the people who worry about their liabilities would think about the riches they do possess, they would stop worrying.

Here’s the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don’t find it anywhere else.

Being part of a community with a church at its centre and singin‘ hymns is a great thing to do.

I am who I am today because of my mother.

It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.

You and I, the people of God, have permission to come before the throne of Heaven at any time we will, and we are encouraged to come there with great boldness.

If I could give you information of my life, it would be to show how a woman of very ordinary ability has been led by God in strange and unaccustomed paths to do In His service what He has done in her. And if I could tell you all, you would see how God has done all, and I nothing.

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.

In spiritual things, it is God who performs all things for you. Rest in Him, then.

Forgiveness is not a feeling – it’s a decision we make because we want to do what’s right before God. It’s a quality decision that won’t be easy and it may take time to get through the process, depending on the severity of the offense.

I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help – and God’s.

I do know this: God does answer your prayers, but it’s not always in the way you expect. God knows what’s best for us, though, so there’s no need to worry when things don’t go how we originally wanted them to go.

I love life because what more is there?

The incomparable greatness of the religions of the East lies in their having been second to none in vibrating with the passion for unity. This note, which is essential to every form of mysticism, has even penetrated them so deeply that we find ourselves falling under a spell simply by uttering the names of their Gods.

One’s own religion is after all a matter between oneself and one’s Maker and no one else’s.