John Piper Quotes

Prayer is not so much the means whereby God's will is bent to man's desires, as it is that whereby man's will is bent to God's desires.

Life is about letting God use you for his purposes, not using him for your own purpose.

Prayer is not a way of making use of God; prayer is a way of offering ourselves to God in order that He should be able to make use of us.

Anyone with the maturity to surrender entirely to God is mature enough for God to use.

I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. ... When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. ... Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world.

The essence of surrender is getting out of God's way so that He can do in us what He also wants to do through us.

Prayer isn't where we change God, but He changes us. Instead of praying for OUR desires, let's pray He burden us with HIS.

There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God.

I would have no desire other than to accomplish thy will. Teach me to pray; pray thyself in me.

I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.

It matters not to me what I do, or what I suffer, so long as I abide loveingly united to God's will - that is my whole business.

Let this be thy whole endeavor, this thy prayer, this thy desire,-that thou mayest be stripped of all selfishness, and with entire simplicity follow Jesus only.

Prayer is not about changing God, but being willing to let God change us.

The only way we can be of use to God is to let Him take us through the crooks and crannies of our own characters.

His Majesty knows best what is suitable for us. There's no need for us to be advising Him about what He should give us, for He can rightly tell us that we don't know what we're asking for (cf. Mt. 20:22). The whole aim of any person who is beginning prayer ? and don't forget this, because it's very important ? should be that he work and prepare himself with determination and every possible effort to bring his will into conformity with God's will.

If our prayer is “Dear God, please use me to be of service,” then that is what we will be. And it is not for us to judge either the size or value of our gifts. Our job is to try to get out of the way, to defer to the spirit moving within us and become open channels for the flow of God’s love.

A key to improved prayer is to learn to ask the right questions. Consider changing from asking for the things you want to honestly seeking what He wants for you. Then as you learn His will, pray that you will be led to have the strength to fulfill it.

A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, and must empty ourselves. Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in his love than in your weakness.

I am a little pencil in God's hands. He does the thinking. He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is really hard because it is a broken pencil and He has to sharpen it a little more.

Our prayers cannot force God to do anything, but He uses them as His own instruments to bring about His will.

Since I am I, I must make an act of self-surrender, however small or however easy, in living to God rather than to my self.

I have to learn that the aim in life is God's, not mine.

I used to pray that God would do this or that; now I pray that God will make His will known to me.

Make sure that you let God's grace work in your souls by accepting whatever He gives you, and giving Him whatever He takes from you. True holiness consists in doing God's work with a smile.

Never think that God's delays are God's denials. True prayer always receives what it asks, or something better.