“‘That of God in every man’ is not a human means of knowing like reason, intelligence, feeling, intuition, natural conscience or moral law within. It is a means of knowing that can be described as seeking counsel of the Creator. The Creator imparts his wisdom to man. This is not human wisdom, but the voice and wisdom of the Creator. We cannot produce the equivalent of this voice and this wisdom from our human resources. It must be heard and received.”
“Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations wherever you come; that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone; whereby in them you may be a blessing, and make the witness of God in them to bless you.”
October 2025: One of the fundamental beliefs of Quakerism is that there is “that of God in everyone,” which is taken from a quote by George Fox, the cofounder of the Religious Society of Friends. These messages strive to interpret that quote and explore ways to love our neighbors and ourselves.
In a time of increasing division and concern over the direction of our country and the world, it might feel superfluous or insufficient to spend our time sitting in silent worship. But this is exactly the moment to apply our nearly-400-year-old practice of waiting on the spirit to guide us.
“Besides its symbolic connection to the practice of silence in Quaker circles, even a short moment of silence is a useful practice that can be used throughout the day to stay physically grounded and awake to your own surroundings.“
“I read that I was supposed to make ‘a place for inward retirement and waiting upon God’ in my daily life, as the Queries in those days expressed it. At last I began to realise, first that I needed some kind of inner peace, and then that these apparently stuffy old Friends were really talking sense.
If I studied what they were trying to tell me, I might possibly find that the ‘place of inward retirement’ was not a place I had to go to, it was there all the time.”
“Underlying and undergirding the unprogrammed worship of Friends is prayer; the prayerful corporate waiting which takes place in any meeting when it has centered down. As we go deeper and deeper, prayer is our task as individuals and as a group.”
“Every member of a Meeting, whatever his formal status […] contributes to the Meeting. Sometimes this contribution is spoken; generally it is silent.”
“Many religions include short moments of silence in their services, but for Quakers, silence is the heart of worship. The room goes still as we let go of everyday busyness. Individuals may rise occasionally to share a message out of the silence, but for the most part quiet reigns.
And yet, inside our heads, thoughts dance and twist about. As anyone who has tried to meditate knows, silencing one’s thoughts can be a challenge. Everything from grocery lists to worries about loved ones parades through the mind. Sometimes the procession makes a clatter; other times, a steady whisper of thoughts. But either way, it can be hard to settle.”
“The essence of the value of silence, for Quakers as well as for monastics and others, is to free ourselves from influences other than from God. Silence, then, can open ourselves to God and let us truly listen to the Living Christ.”
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