Inspirational Quotes by Richard J. Foster
“Praying with frequency gives us the readiness to pray again as needed from moment to moment. The more we pray, the more we think to pray, and as we see the results of prayer—the responses of our Father to our requests—our confidence in God’s power spills over into other areas of our life.” —Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines4”
“Grant me, Lord, to know what I ought to know, to love what I ought to love, to praise what delights you most, to value what is precious in your sight, and to hate what is offensive to you. Amen. —Thomas à Kempis”
“The understanding of God’s Word demands our whole attention, and even then there is ongoing need for the traditions of the Church, and the Holy Spirit. And although the hearing of Scripture can be a disturbing event, the ultimate result for obedient and careful listeners is joy. Joy is not to be equated with momentary happiness; rather, biblical joy is a deep sense of peace that all is well with one’s soul.”
“accept the Word of Scripture and ponder it in your heart, as Mary did. That is all. That is meditation.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Way to Freedom5”
“Lord God, you deserve my best. Forgive me for the times I have offered you only the dregs, whether it be half-heartedly muttered prayers or only the money I know I can do without. Help me to remember that there is no better resting place for my heart and indeed all my possessions than with you. Help me to trust and obey you more each day. In your name I pray. Amen.”
“The story is not about the singular virtues of the one being called. The story is about a risk-taking, bold sort of God who reaches in and calls people for divine service, giving them what they need for that service.”
“God-with-us” is the essence of deliverance regardless of the specific circumstance. As”
“The truth is that there are no “masters” in the spiritual life. Mature and wise teachers, yes. But fundamentally we are all beginners receiving and giving on our knees before God and with open hands before one another. In this business no one “lords it over” another. Pay”
“We sing, ‘Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee.’ But we must flesh out that consecration in specific ways, which is why the next line of the hymn says, ‘Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.’ We consecrate ourselves by consecrating our money.”
“Lord, as you awaken us to delight in your praise, grant that we may know you, call on you, and praise you; for you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. Amen. —St. Augustine”
“The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brother’s is sure. And that also clarifies the goal of all Christian community: they meet one another as bringers of the message of salvation.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together”
“It is important when we have a need to go to God in prayer. I know, whenever I have prayed earnestly, that I have been heard and have obtained more than I prayed for. God sometimes delays, but He always comes.” —Martin Luther, “What a Great Gift We Have in Prayer”9”
“There are two sides to the Prayer of Adoration: thanksgiving and praise. The usual distinction between these two experiences is this: in thanksgiving we give glory to God for what he has done for us; in praise we give glory to God for who he is in himself.”
“Discipline is to present us before grace, it does not produce grace to make sense.”
“A Spiritual Discipline is an intentionally directed action by which we do what we can do in order to receive from God the ability (or power) to do what we cannot achieve by direct effort.”
“Spiritual Disciplines involve doing what we can do to receive from God the power to do what we cannot do. And God graciously uses this process to produce in us the kind of person who automatically will do what needs to be done when it needs to be done.”
“When Jesus walked among humankind there was a certain simplicity to being his disciple. Primarily it meant to go with him, in an attitude of observation, study, obedience, and imitation. There were no correspondence courses. One knew what to do and what it would cost.”
“over many centuries and through multiple human authors, God has so superintended the development of the Bible that it speaks to us about real life (zoë) and teaches us how to live “with God”
“The Spiritual Disciplines in and of themselves have no merit whatsoever. They possess no righteousness, contain no rectitude. Their purpose—their only purpose—is to place us before God. After that they have come to the end of their usefulness. But it is enough.”
“Freedom comes not from the absence of restraint but from the presence of discipline.”
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Richard J. Foster is a Christian theologian and author in the Quaker tradition. His writings speak to a broad Christian audience. He has been a professor at Friends University and pastor of Evangelical Friends churches. Foster resides in Denver, Colorado. He earned his undergraduate degree at George Fox University in Oregon and his Doctor of Pastoral Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary.
Foster is best known for his 1978 book Celebration of Discipline, which examines the inward disciplines of prayer, fasting, meditation, and study in the Christian life, the outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service, and the corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. It has sold over one million copies. It was named by Christianity Today as one of the top ten books of the twentieth century.