All the wants which disturb human life, which make us uneasy to ourselves, quarrelsome with others, and unthankful to God, which weary us in vain labors and foolish anxieties, which carry us from project to project, from place to place in a poor pursuit of we don’t know what, are the wants which neither God, nor nature, nor reason hath subjected us to, but are solely infused into us by pride, envy, ambition, and covetousness.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)
From morning to night keep Jesus in thy heart, long for nothing, desire nothing, hope for nothing but to have all that is within thee changed into the spirit and temper of the holy Jesus.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)
God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it, too. An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)
If anyone would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you to make a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)
The greatest saint in the world is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives alms, or is most eminent for temperance, chastity or justice. It is he who is most thankful to God.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)
Now if you will stop here and ask yourself why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)
We must alter our lives in order to alter our hearts, for it is impossible to live one way and pray another.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)
You are to think of yourself as only existing in this world to do God’s will. To think that you are your own is as absurd as to think you are self-created. It is an obvious first principle that you belong completely to God.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)
If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)
He who has learned to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life.
William Law (Writer, 1686 – 1761)