Moving Mountains Quotes

“Oswald Chambers, a man who wrote profoundly and elegantly on prayer, made a radical statement when he said, “The idea of prayer is not in order to get answers from God.” Good heavens—it’s not? What then is the purpose? “Prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God.” 1 A mighty truth is being uncovered here.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Yes, yes—we have all heard that we are God’s children; we are sons and daughters. The curse of familiarity with the words has dulled us to the staggering truth they contain. The reality of it has not penetrated our hearts, not deeply enough. We still act and pray like orphans or slaves. A slave feels reluctant to pray; they feel they have no right to ask, and so their prayers are modest and respectful. They spend more time asking forgiveness than they do praying for abundance. They view the relationship with reverence, maybe more like fear, but not with the tenderness of love. Of being loved. There is no intimacy in the language or their feelings. Sanctified unworthiness colors their view of prayer. These are often “good servants of the Lord.” An orphan is not reluctant to pray; they feel desperate. But their prayers feel more like begging than anything else. Orphans feel a great chasm between themselves and the One to whom they speak. Abundance is a foreign concept; a poverty mentality permeates their prayer lives. They ask for scraps; they expect scraps. But not sons; sons know who they are.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Most people don’t even try to learn the ways of the kingdom; they just go about their days with a practical agnosticism, hoping things work out, tossing up prayers like they hope to score on a Jesus lottery ticket.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“We have staked it all on this—that life wins. Oh, dear friends—life wins. Life wins. Sometimes now, especially if we will pray. But life wins fully, and very soon. Just as we must fix our eyes on Jesus when we pray, we must also fix our hearts on this one undeniable truth: life will win. When you know that unending joy is about to be yours, you live with such an unshakable confidence it will almost be a swagger. You can pray boldly, without fear, knowing that, “If this doesn’t work now, it will work totally and completely very soon.” We can have that kingdom attitude of Daniel’s friends, who said, “God is able to deliver, and he will deliver. But if not . . .” we will not lose heart. Period.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“I realize that many dear followers of Christ have been taught that God only speaks to his sons and daughters through the Bible. The irony of that theology is this: that’s not what the Bible teaches! The Scriptures are filled with stories of God speaking to his people—intimately, personally. Adam”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Because this is such a beautiful story of finding God in the midst of enormous pressure for guidance, I will often turn Daniel’s praise into a prayer when I am seeking the unraveling of my own mystery: O Father, wisdom and power belong to you. You change times and seasons; you set up kings and depose them. You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. You reveal deep and hidden things; you know what lies in darkness, and light dwells with you. Father—I ask for wisdom and power, I ask you to make known to me the answer to this riddle.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Do not diminish the wounds you have received because you have heard far “worse” stories than yours; minimizing the impact of a wound never heals it. Jesus cares about it all.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“But whatever the damage may be, however it was inflicted, however unreachable it might seem, the essence of healing prayer is always bringing the presence of Jesus into the afflicted places, for we are restored through union with him.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“To be clear, I am not listening for an audible voice, as I would if you and I were talking. I am listening for his gentle voice within, for that is where Jesus dwells—within our very hearts (Eph. 3:17).”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Four times in this passage alone Jesus repeats himself, to make it perfectly clear: his sheep hear his voice. We are meant to hear the voice of God. This is one of the lost treasures of Christianity—an intimate, conversational relationship with God is available, and is meant to be normal.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Rom. 8:15)”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Now for a word of caution: be careful that your heart-cries do not subtly turn into agreements with despair or forsakenness. Do not let “Father—I feel abandoned!” turn into an agreement with, “I am abandoned.” It is such a relief to admit the anguish, but in this post-postmodern hour, where the minor theme of suffering and desolation has become the major theme, it is too easy to “land” in a place of heartache and call it authenticity. The emotions are real, and they matter, but emotions are not a safe harbor for the soul. Our enemy is always there in times of distress, trying to get us to agree with his lies, You are forsaken.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“[F]orgiveness is not saying it didn't matter; it is not saying we simply choose to overlook the offense. Forgiveness is saying the cross is enough—we require no further payment than Jesus paid. Forgiveness is releasing the person to God for him to deal with.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Do not diminish the wounds you have received because you have heard far "worse" stories than yours; minimizing the impact of a wound never heals it. Jesus cares about it all.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“I don't want to just jump in [to prayer] and start whacking away, only to find myself exhausted thirty minutes later with little to show for it. That can be so discouraging. First, I consecrate and ask the Holy Spirit to fill me. But I don't even start praying after that; second, I ask the Spirit what to pray. How he reveals this is as diverse and creative as the God who made the world around us. Sometimes I will simply hear a word, like, Comfort. So I will begin to pray for comfort. Sometimes he will bring a scripture to mind, and I will let that be the focus of my prayers. Other times he will reveal something key by a "feeling" or a sensation—I will suddenly feel overwhelmed, or discouraged, or fearful when I wasn't moments before—and in that manner he reveals to me what the person I am praying for is under.
But most of the time, he will speak to me in my heart—that "small, inner voice"—and give me direction as to what to pray.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Now, if I am having a hard time hearing God's voice, or being certain that I have heard, I will sometimes "try on" one answer, then the other. Still in a posture of quiet listening, I will add to my prayers, "Are you saying yes, Jesus? Are you saying you want us to go?" Pause. Listen. "Or are you saying no—you don't want us to go?" Often as we "try on" one answer or another, our spirit can feel the guidance of the Holy Spirit through a confirmation, or a strong sense of reservation.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“…I am careful how I bring my emotion, or my experience, to the need at hand. I don't ignore them; but neither do I let them dictate what I am praying. Our testimonies of previous results are valuable, and they may come into play. But this is a very dynamic story we find ourselves in, and as we mature in prayer, let us be careful not to assume this situation is exactly the same as the one before. You will want to ask God what needs to be prayed.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Effective prayer is often like the felling of a great tree—it takes repeated blows.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. (James 5: 14–15 UPDATED NIV)”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“We simply invoke His presence, then invite Him into our hearts. He shows us our hearts. In prayer for the healing of memories, we simply ask our Lord to come present to that place where we were so wounded (or perhaps wounded another). Forgiving others, and receiving forgiveness, occurs. In prayer for the healing of the heart from fears, bitterness, etc., we see primal fears as well as lesser ones dealt with immediately: those fears that the sufferer often has not been aware of, never been able to name—they only know that their lives have been seriously restricted and shaped because of them. 3”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you. (Ps. 9: 1–3 NLT)”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6: 14).”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Yes—God is sovereign. And in his sovereignty he created a world in which the choices of men and angels matter. Tremendously. He has granted to us “the dignity of causation,” as Pascal called it. Our choices have enormous consequences.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“sometimes it takes time for a person to be ready to forgive. It often helps to explain that forgiveness is not saying it didn’t matter; it is not saying we simply choose to overlook the offense. Forgiveness is saying the cross is enough—we require no further payment than Jesus paid. Forgiveness is releasing the person to God for him to deal with.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Communion with God is the one need of the soul beyond all other need,” wrote George MacDonald. “Prayer is the beginning of that communion and some need is the motive of that prayer.”2”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“For the search for wholeness compels every person, every hour of their lives, whether they know it or not. We ache to be made whole again. And only one Person who ever walked this earth can do this for the heart and soul he created himself.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“As did Jesus, when he said to his dear ones, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (Matt. 10:16). The metaphor so perfectly describes our situation we almost want to smile—like when the young bride and groom are waving good-bye and the grandfather leans over to the grandmother and whispers, “They have no idea what they’ve just gotten themselves into.” The humor of absurd understatement. But”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Now, if you believed both assumptions, if they were woven into your deepest convictions about the world, you would want to learn to pray like a soldier wants to learn to use his weapon, like a smoke jumper wants to learn survival skills. We really have no idea what sort of breakthrough is actually possible until we learn to pray. Perhaps we, too, will be ending droughts and stopping wildfires.”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“Fuzzy and unspecific prayers see fuzzy and unspecific results. God”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

“essential prayer is conversational. It”
― John Eldredge, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority