10 Inspiring Quotes about Faith from Women

Queen Elizabeth reigned in England from 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and the sister of Queen Mary. Elizabeth spent almost a year in prison when her fervently Catholic sister suspected her of aiding Protestant rebels. Her time as Queen has been celebrated for centuries, especially for the culture of English playwriting and drama that existed during her reign as well as England’s adventures at sea. The Act of Supremacy made her the head of the church of England and she made England the leader of the world’s Protestant nations.

“There is only one Christ, Jesus, one faith. All else is a dispute over trifles.” - Queen Elizabeth I

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Ann Judson was born in 1789 in Bradford, Massachusetts. She became one of the first American female missionaries when she and her husband Adoniram moved to India and then eventually to Burma in order to spread the Gospel. She translated the books of Daniel and Jonah into Burmese and was the first Protestant to translate a portion of the Scriptures into Thai. While serving in Burma, she died of smallpox at the age of 36.

“A little while, we are in eternity; before we find ourselves there, let us do much for Christ.” - Ann Judson

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Lottie Moon was a Southern Baptist who served as a missionary to China for almost 40 years. Her labor led to the conversion of hundreds of Chinese people. She also wrote extensively to encourage more people to become missionaries and to raise support for missionary efforts. She suggested that the week before Christmas should be set aside as a time of giving to international missions. Each year, Southern Baptists contribute to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions. The offering raised $157 million for missions in 2018.

“Surely there can be no greater joy than that of saving souls.” - Lottie Moon

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Florence Nightingale lived from 1820-1910 and has been called the founder of modern nursing. She rose to fame while training nurses during the Crimean War. She helped establish a nursing school at St. Thomas Hospital in London in 1860. She wrote scores of tracts to spread medical knowledge, including many studies that argued for improved sanitary practices.

“It is such a blessing to have been called, however unworthy, to be the handmaid of the Lord.” - Florence Nightingale

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Rosa Parks was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement who is best known for her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. She garnered national attention when on December 1, 1955, she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger when the whites-only section had been filled up. Her arrest inspired a year-long boycott of the buses in Montgomery. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.

"I felt the Lord would give me the strength to endure whatever I had to face. God did away with all my fear...It was time for someone to stand up – or, in my case, sit down. I refused to move." - Rosa Parks

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Fanny Crosby lived from 1820-1915 and is the author of hymns such as “Blessed Assurance,” “To God Be the Glory,” “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour,” and “Jesus Is Tenderly Calling.” Though she was blind from shortly after her birth, she wrote more than 8,000 hymns and over 1,000 poems. She lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan for most of her life and was a member of several different denominations during her lifetime.

“If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind…for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour.” - Fanny Crosby

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Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who housed Jews in her home during the Nazi occupation. Her efforts saved many from certain death in concentration camps, though it led to her arrest and incarceration at a women’s labor camp in Germany. She was released at the end of 1944 and returned to Holland, where she cared for the mentally ill. Her biography, The Hiding Place, tells the story of her family’s heroic efforts during World War 2 and has sold millions of copies.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” - Corrie ten Boom

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Abraham Lincoln called Harriet Beecher Stowe “The little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” Stowe’s father was the President of Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati. It was there that she met her husband, the Rev. Calvin Ellis Stowe. She and her husband were fervent abolitionists and housed several fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad. Stowe said she had a vision of a dying slave during a communion service and she was inspired to write his story. “His story” became Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel that laid bare the horrors of slavery in the South and fanned the flames of the abolitionist movement.

“Prayer is a long rope with a strong hold.” - Harriet Beecher Stowe

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Flannery O’Connor was a southern writer of novels and short stories. O’Connor was born in Savannah, GA in 1925 and her Catholic faith informed many of her stories. She also reviewed more than one hundred books for Catholic newspapers in Georgia. She employed a style of writing which has been described as “Southern Gothic.” A posthumous collection of her short stories won the 1972 National Book Award for Fiction.

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” - Flannery O’Connor

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Queen Elizabeth II became Queen of the United Kingdom in 1953. She is the longest-lived and longest-reigning monarch in British history. She led the United Kingdom through the Cold War and the decolonization of Africa. In addition to serving as Queen, she is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. She has said that the teachings of Christ provide the framework for how she lives her life and that she has drawn great comfort from Christ’s words in difficult times.

“Through his teaching and by his example, Jesus Christ would show the world how small steps taken in faith and in hope can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding.” - Queen Elizabeth II

Photo courtesy: Julian Calder/Creative Commons; image cropped and resized