Whose Quotes Litter Your Conversations?

By M. R. Conrad | August 3, 2022

Who said it? Can you match these quotes to their source? (answers at the end)

  1. “I can do this all day.”
  2. “I shall return.”
  3. “Inconceivable!”
  4. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
  5. “You are a lioness.”
  6. “I’m lovin’ it.”
  7. “You shall not pass!”

How often do you find yourself quoting snippets like these? In our family, they are part of the tapestry of everyday life (and jokes). A witty quote or turn of a phrase brings a smile, a memory, or the camaraderie of an inside joke. Such quotations litter our conversations.

Quotes that Flowed from Ann Judson

Last week, I finished reading a biography of Ann Judson1 (missionary to Burma 1789–1826), and what overflowed from her communications challenged me.2 In all Ann’s writing—whether personal journals, private letters, or published works—she lapsed into quotations from the Bible. From short phrases to lengthy sections, Ann used God’s Word to express her own thoughts and feelings.

Job 13:15 and Lamentations 1:12; 3:23

Writing after the death of her child, Ann quotes multiple passages: “Do not think though I write thus, that I repine at the dealings of Providence. No! though he slay me yet will I trust in him! … Though I say with the Prophet, Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, yet I would also say, It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. God is the same when he afflicts, as when he is merciful, just as worthy of our entire trust and confidence now, as when he entrusted us with the precious little gift.”3

Psalm 46

When her husband seemed lost at sea, she wrote, “How dark, how intricate the providence that now surrounds us! Yet it becomes us to be still, and know that he is God who has thus ordered our circumstances.” [Psalm 46]4

Psalm 50:15

When Ann was sick and her husband in prison, Ann wrote of this time: “If ever I felt the value and efficacy of prayer, I did at this time. I could not rise from my couch; I could make no efforts to secure my husband; I could only plead with that great and powerful Being who has said, ‘Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will hear, and thou shalt glorify me.’” [Psalm 50:15]5

Quotes that Flow from God’s Word Dwelling in You

To quote God’s Word so freely and naturally reveals a glimpse into Ann Judson’s walk with God. Ann not only spent time alone reading God’s Word, but she also memorized it and meditated on it. Only then could she incorporate it into her correspondence, writing longhand without the aid of a word processor’s copy and paste function. As Ann faced daunting trials, she lived and breathed God’s Word. Yet, only spiritual disciplines that began long before she embarked for Asia could have prepared this reservoir of truth from which to draw in her hours of need.

Colossians 3:16 commands us to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” The words of Scripture should live in our thoughts and hearts overflowing into our communications with others. Quotations and allusions from God’s Word should spring up naturally in our conversations, our emails, and even our texts. Our hymns and spiritual songs should reverberate with phrases from Scripture.

Quotes that Flow from You

What comes to our minds and lips most readily reveals what is on our hearts. Whose quotes litter your conversations? What do they reveal about you?

Answer Key to the quotes in the introduction:

  1. Captain America
  2. General Douglas McArthur
  3. Vizzini in The Princess Bride
  4. Juliet Capulet (Shakespeare)
  5. Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
  6. McDonalds advertisement
  7. Gandalf in Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Dr. Conrad serves in urban Asia. He is the author of Daring Devotion: A 31-Day Journey with those who Lived God’s Promises. He blogs at Rooted Thinking, we republish his material by permission.

Photo by Héctor J. Rivas on Unsplash

  1. James, Sharon. Ann Judson: A Missionary Life for Burma. Welwyn Garden City, UK: Evangelical Press, 1998. [↩]
  2. Read more of Ann Judson and others like her in my missions devotional and its upcoming sequel. [↩]
  3. Arabella W. Stuart, Lives of the Three Mrs. Judsons (Boston: Lee and Shephard Publishers, 1855), 40. Free on kindle! [↩]
  4. Ibid., 49. [↩]
  5. Ibid., 94. [↩]
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