Agnes Sanford Quotes

As we practice the work of forgiveness we discover more and more that forgiveness and healing are one.

THE ONE WHO KNEW said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Happy, that is, are those people who know that their spirituality is small, that their creeds are imperfect, that their instruction concerning God and man is incomplete. Happy are those who know that they do not know all of truth. For only those who admit their spiritual poverty are willing to learn.

If everyone who prayed for the peace of the world had enough prayer-power to accomplish the healing of a head cold, this would be a different world within twenty-four hours.

see it-whole. Agnes Sanford for a long time had no success in praying for the sick at a distance when she was asked to do so. Contrasting this with the positive results achieved through a prayer group she knew, she wondered why she failed and they succeeded until she realized that, while praying, she imagined the persons in bed, sick; the prayer group, on the other hand, thought of the distant patients they prayed for as whole and well. After changing to a more positive way of praying she, too, found that the persons she prayed for at a distance became well. In this kind of prayer mental suggestion can, of course, have some influence; but this is much more than that: we are not playing psychological games but are trying to share in the way God sees this person and how he created this person to be-whole and alive and well. Certainly this positive visualization helps our faith. Imagine, for instance, someone coming to you asking you to pray for the filling of a tooth. If you should decide to pray for such a request, visualizing the tooth being filled would be a real test of faith much harder than just praying for the subsiding of the pain or for healing in general for the person. Many things we don't understand; but we know by experience that they seem to help. For that reason Agnes

If we pray for the gift of wisdom we may know by God's grace what manner of praying people to avoid. Yes, I do avoid some of them. I flee as from the plagues of Egypt.

If we pray for the gift of wisdom we may know by God's grace what manner of praying people to avoid. Yes, I do avoid some of them. I flee as from the plagues of Egypt.

[The] matter of the direct and personal approach is very important. Ministers particularly love to say, "God can help you." Please do not say it! No matter how sincere you are, it sounds to the other person like the hackneyed professional approach which they have come to distrust, because for years they have cried out for God to help them and He has not done so. Say "*I* can help you." You do not at this moment have time to be humble. True humility consists, in any case, in caring so much for another that you do not think of yourself at all; and the question of whether or not you are speaking with due modesty simply does not enter your mind.