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My prayer is not the whimpering of a beggar nor a confession of love. Nor is it the petty reckoning of a small tradesman: Give me and I shall give you. My prayer is the report of a soldier to his general: This is what I did today, this is how I fought to save the entire battle in my own sector, these are the obstacles I encountered, this is how I plan to fight tomorrow.

Nikos Kazantzakis#73

ActionDutyFaithPrayerBattle

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About this quote

What does it mean?
Prayer is framed as a military report of actions taken rather than a plea for favors.
In plain terms
Prayer is about reporting your efforts, not begging.
What can you take from it?
Treat your actions as a report to a higher power.

Where it applies

  • daily reflection
  • moral struggle
  • spiritual discipline

Putting it to work

  • documenting efforts
  • taking responsibility

Questions to consider

  • Is prayer about asking or reporting?
  • How do you measure spiritual duty?

Another view

It reduces prayer to a transactional report rather than communication.

More from Nikos Kazantzakis

  1. Life is a crusade in the service of God. Whether we wished to or not, we set out as crusaders to free - not the Holy Sepulchre - but that God buried in matter …

    Permalink to quote #72

  2. My God and I are horsemen galloping in the burning sun or under drizzling rain. Pale, starving, but unsubdued, we ride and converse. 'Leader!' I cry. He turns …

    Permalink to quote #74

  3. We do not struggle for ourselves, nor for our race, not even for humanity. We do not struggle for Earth, nor for ideas. All these are the precious yet provisio…

    Permalink to quote #71

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