Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks!

The passage contrasts two kinds of religious desire: the wish for an easier external world versus the wish for a stronger inner self. Brooks recasts prayer as a practice of formation—building resilience, courage, and competence—rather than a request for exemption from difficulty. “Tasks equal to your powers” implies a life calibrated to one’s current limits; Brooks instead urges growth so that one’s powers expand to meet larger duties. The quote’s enduring appeal lies in its stoic, vocational ethic: suffering and challenge are not romanticized, but they are treated as occasions for spiritual maturation and for a more robust, service-oriented life.