Quotes from William Carey

If he give me credit for being a plodder he will describe me justly. Anything beyond that will be too much. I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.

One of the first, and most important of those duties which are incumbent upon us, is fervent and united prayer.

What openings of providence do we wait for? We can neither expect to be transported into the heathen world without ordinary means, nor to be endowed with the gift of tongues, &c. when we arrive there. These would not be providential interpositions, but miraculous ones. Where a command exists nothing can be necessary to render it binding but a removal of those obstacles which render obedience impossible, and these are removed already.

Without justification salvation is not of grace, but of works.

In the Acts of the apostles we have an account of four of the principal journies which Paul, and his companions undertook. The first, in which he was accompanied by Barnabas, is recorded in the xiii. and xiv. chapters, and was the first attack on the heathen world.

The future is as bright as the promises of God.

But none of the moderns have equalled the Moravian Brethren in this good work; they have sent missions to Greenland, Labrador, and several of the West-Indian Islands, which have been blessed for good. They have likewise sent to Abyssinia, in Africa, but what success they have had I cannot tell.

The future is as bright as the promise of God.

I'm not afraid of failure, I'm afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter.

One of the first, and most important of those duties which are incumbent upon us, is fervent and united prayer. However the influence of the Holy Spirit may be set at nought, and run down by many, it will be found upon trial, that all means which we can use, without it, will be ineffectual. If a temple is raised for God in the heathen world, it will not be by might, nor by power, nor by the authority of the magistrate, or the eloquence of the orator; but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Fifthly, As to learning their languages, the same means would be found necessary here as in trade between different nations. In some cases interpreters might be obtained, who might be employed for a time; and where these were not to be found, the missionaries must have patience, and mingle with the people, till they have learned so much of their language as to be able to communicate their ideas to them in it.

Prayer - secret, fervent, believing prayer - lies at the root of all personal godliness.