To fold the hands in prayer is well, to open them in charity is better.

This saying circulates as a French proverb in English-language collections of maxims and sermon literature, typically invoked in moral instruction about the relationship between devotion and social duty. It reflects a long Christian-inflected European tradition (common in Catholic France as well as Protestant moral writing) that praises prayer but insists that piety should be verified by concrete acts of mercy—almsgiving, hospitality, and care for the poor. In practice it is often quoted in charitable appeals or homilies to urge listeners not to substitute private religiosity for public compassion, and to frame charity as the more demanding, socially consequential expression of faith.

The proverb contrasts two outward gestures—hands folded in prayer and hands opened in giving—to argue that piety is incomplete without practical compassion. It does not dismiss prayer; rather, it ranks tangible aid as the higher fulfillment of religious or moral duty. The image implies that devotion should translate into action: the same hands that signal reverence can and should become instruments of generosity. In a broader ethical sense, it champions lived solidarity over purely private spirituality, suggesting that the worth of belief is measured by the relief it brings to others.