Jim Elliot was an American Christian missionary, killed during Operation Auca an effort to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador.
Born to devout Christian parents in Portland, Oregon, he developed strong religious beliefs and oratorical skills from a young age.
Despite challenges, Elliot felt called to international missions and, with his friend Pete Fleming, moved to Ecuador in 1952 to evangelize the Quechua Indians.
He married Elisabeth Howard in 1953 and had a daughter, Valerie.
In 1956, Elliot and four companions were killed by Huaorani warriors. His legacy inspired further missionary work and various books, documentaries and films.
I have made a list of the top quotes by Jim Elliot.
Best Jim Elliot Quotes
I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you Lord Jesus. ~ Jim Elliot.
Children are arrows in a quiver, and they are to be trained as missionaries and shot at the Devil. ~ Jim Elliot.
Give what you cannot keep, to gain what you cannot lose. ~ Jim Elliot.
God, I pray light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn up for thee. ~ Jim Elliot.
Domesticated males aren’t much use for adventure. ~ Jim Elliot.
Grieve not, then, if your sons seem to desert you, but rejoice, rather, seeing the will of God done gladly. ~ Jim Elliot.
I have had to make a cross of two logs, and lie down on it, to show the Indians what it means to crucify a man. ~ Jim Elliot.
For my generation I must have the oracles of God in fresh terms. ~ Jim Elliot.
God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. ~ Jim Elliot.
Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God. ~ Jim Elliot.
God deliver me from the dread asbestos of other things. Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame. ~ Jim Elliot.
Most laws condemn the soul and pronounce sentence. The result of the law of my God is perfect. It condemns but forgives. It restores – more than abundantly – what it takes away. ~ Jim Elliot.
Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me. ~ Jim Elliot.
Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living. ~ Jim Elliot.
Lord, make my way prosperous not that I achieve high station, but that my life be an exhibit to the value of knowing God. ~ Jim Elliot.
Wise Jim Elliot Quotes
Ah, how many Marahs have been sweetened by a simple, satisfying glimpse of the Tree and the Love which underwent its worst conflict there. Yes, the Cross is the tree that sweetens the waters. ‘Love never faileth. ~ Jim Elliot.
As your life is in His hands, so are the days of your life. But don’t let the sands of time get into the eye of your vision to reach those who sit in darkness. They simply must hear. ~ Jim Elliot.
I have prayed for new men, fiery, reckless men, possessed of uncontrollably youthful passion – these lit by the Spirit of God. ~ Jim Elliot.
Dreams are tawdry when compared with the leading of God, and not worthy of the aura of wonder we usually surround them with. God only doeth wonders. He does nothing else. His hand can work nothing less. ~ Jim Elliot.
Top Jim Elliot Quotes
When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die. ~ Jim Elliot.
Live every day as if the Son of Man were at the door, and gear your thinking to the fleeting moment. Just how can it be redeemed? Walk as if the next step would carry you across the threshold of Heaven. Pray. That saint who advances on his knees never retreats. ~ Jim Elliot.
I couldn’t have asked for more than God in deliberate grace has surprised me with! ~ Jim Elliot.
Unwillingness to accept God’s ‘way of escape’ from temptation frightens me – what a rebel yet resides within. ~ Jim Elliot.
Eternity shall be at once a great eye-opener and a great mouth-shutter. ~ Jim Elliot.
Always seek peace between your heart and God, but in this world, always be careful to remain ever-restless, never satisfied, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. ~ Jim Elliot.
God is still on His throne, we’re still on His ‘footstool,’ and there’s only a knee’s distance between! ~ Jim Elliot.
So many missionaries, intent on doing something, forget that His main work is to make something of them… ~ Jim Elliot.
Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth! ~ Jim Elliot.
Famous Jim Elliot Quotes
Be on guard, my soul, of complicating your environment so that you have neither time nor room for growth! ~ Jim Elliot.
Ninety-five percent of our wool is going to China. ~ Jim Elliot.
I do not know how to make a man think seriously about sin and judgment, and must look to the work of the Holy Spirit for any hint of such a working. ~ Jim Elliot.
We wouldn’t think of rising in the morning without a face-wash, but we often neglect that purgative cleansing of the Word of the Lord. It wakes us up to our responsibility. ~ Jim Elliot.
If we are the sheep of His pasture, remember that sheep are headed for the altar. ~ Jim Elliot.
It’s hard to steer a parked car. ~ Jim Elliot.
Lord, give me firmness without hardness, steadfastness without dogmatism, love without weakness. ~ Jim Elliot.
Wherever you are – be all there. ~ Jim Elliot.
Great Jim Elliot Quotes
We best learn patience by practicing it. ~ Jim Elliot.
Surely those who know the great passionate heart of Jehovah must deny their own loves to share in the expression of His. ~ Jim Elliot.
Eagles are very tolerant and very adaptable, but they have to get established first. When birds are setting up their breeding territory, they are the most susceptible to being discouraged. ~ Jim Elliot.
Birds are extremely valued as indicators of overall environmental health. If there’s a problem in a wild bird population, it’s indicative that something went wrong. ~ Jim Elliot.
Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God. ~ Jim Elliot.
The devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds… Satan is quite aware of the power of silence. ~ Jim Elliot.
That saint who advances on his knees never retreats… ~ Jim Elliot.
Missionaries are very human folks, simply a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt somebody. ~ Jim Elliot.
It is true that a fellow cannot ignore women – but he can think of them as he ought – as sisters, not as sparring partners. ~ Jim Elliot.
How wonderful to know that Christianity is more than a padded pew or a dim cathedral, but that it is a real, living, daily experience which goes on from grace to grace. ~ Jim Elliot.
Profound Jim Elliot Quotes
The will of God is always a bigger thing than we bargain for, but we must believe that whatever it involves, it is good, acceptable and perfect. ~ Jim Elliot.
Singleness, simplicity, is required of me. One treasure, a single eye, and a sole Master! ~ Jim Elliot.
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. ~ Jim Elliot.
Begin each day with private reading of the Word and prayer. ~ Jim Elliot.
Why do you need a voice when you have a verse? ~ Jim Elliot.
No one warns young people to follow Adam’s example. He waited till God saw his need. Then God made Adam sleep, prepared for his mate, and brought her to him. ~ Jim Elliot.
What good are Greek, commentaries, insight, gift, and all the rest, if there is no heart for Christ? ~ Jim Elliot.
Popular Jim Elliot Quotes
The shiny paint laid on by curiosity’s hand has worn off. What thing better can a man know than the love of Christ, which passes knowledge? ~ Jim Elliot.
God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him. ~ Jim Elliot.
I have felt the impact of your prayer in these past weeks. I am certain now that nothing has had a more powerful influence on this life of mine than your prayers. ~ Jim Elliot.
I may no longer depend on pleasant impulses to bring me before the Lord. I must rather respond to principles I know to be right, whether I feel them to be enjoyable or not. ~ Jim Elliot.
Feast of Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr, the man who will not act until he knows all will never act at all. ~ Jim Elliot.
So these were the 60 top Jim Elliot quotes on love, sacrifice and God.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Harriet Beecher Stowe quotes and John Stuart Mill quotes.
