"The man who sows wrong thoughts and deeds and prays that God will bless him is in the position of a farmer who, having sown tares, asks God to bring forth for him a harvest of wheat"
About this Quote
The intent is corrective, almost hygienic: stop treating God like a supernatural publicist for your bad decisions. Allen is writing in a late-Victorian/early self-help atmosphere where "mind" and "character" were increasingly sold as technologies of success. His wider project (think As a Man Thinketh) insists that inner life is not private; it is productive. Thoughts are seeds. Deeds are planting. Outcomes are harvest. That metaphor smuggles in a hard ethic: you are not mainly punished by the world; you are revealed by it.
The subtext is a critique of performative piety and spiritual bargaining. Prayer becomes, not communion, but damage control - a way to keep the self-image intact while avoiding the humiliating work of change. Allen doesn't mock faith; he disciplines it. If you want blessing, the quote implies, the first spiritual act isn't asking. It's switching crops: choosing different thoughts, different habits, and accepting the lag time before the field shows it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Prayer |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Allen, James. (2026, January 17). The man who sows wrong thoughts and deeds and prays that God will bless him is in the position of a farmer who, having sown tares, asks God to bring forth for him a harvest of wheat. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-man-who-sows-wrong-thoughts-and-deeds-and-28362/
Chicago Style
Allen, James. "The man who sows wrong thoughts and deeds and prays that God will bless him is in the position of a farmer who, having sown tares, asks God to bring forth for him a harvest of wheat." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-man-who-sows-wrong-thoughts-and-deeds-and-28362/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The man who sows wrong thoughts and deeds and prays that God will bless him is in the position of a farmer who, having sown tares, asks God to bring forth for him a harvest of wheat." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-man-who-sows-wrong-thoughts-and-deeds-and-28362/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.











