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Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it. Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield but to my own strength. Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved but hope for the patience to win my freedom. Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling your mercy in my success alone; But let me find the grasp of your hand in my failure. Variant: Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless when facing them...

Rabindranath Tagore#84

TagoreFreedomGrowthSufferingCouragePrayerStrength

About this quote

What does it mean?
Pray for courage and strength to face challenges rather than for protection from them.
In plain terms
Ask for strength to face pain and danger instead of asking to avoid them.
What can you take from it?
Seek courage to face challenges instead of protection from them.

Where it applies

  • hardship
  • personal growth
  • spiritual life

Putting it to work

  • face a difficulty head-on
  • write a personal prayer for strength

Questions to consider

  • What would it look like to pray for courage?
  • Where do you need freedom?

Another view

Some may need practical protection rather than just courage.

More from Rabindranath Tagore

  1. Leave out my name from the gift if it be a burden, but keep my song.

    Permalink to quote #83
  2. Let the dead have the immortality of fame, but the living the immortality of love.

    Permalink to quote #85
  3. It is our desires that limit the scope of our self-realisation, hinder our extension of consciousness, and give rise to sin, which is the innermost barrier tha…

    Permalink to quote #82

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