"the voice in the presence of the Word"

Wikimedia Commons

ἡ φωνὴ τῷ Λόγῳ

the voice by the Word

     "The Baptist protests; Jesus insists. Then John says: I ought to be baptized by you. He is the lamp in the presence of the Sun, the voice in the presence of the Word, the friend in the presence of the Bridegroom, the greatest of all born of woman in the presence of the Firstborn of all creation, the one who leapt in his mother’s womb in the presence of him who was adored in the womb, the forerunner and future forerunner in the presence of him who has already come and is to come again."

Οὐ δέχεται ὁ Βαπτιστής, ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀγωνίζεται· « Ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ Βαπτισθῆναι », ὁ λύχνος τῷ Ἡηλίῳ φησὶν, ἡ φωνὴ τῷ Λόγῳ, ὁ φίλος τῷ Νυμφίῳ, ὁ ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας τῷ Πρωτοτόκῳ πάσης κτίσεως, ὁ προσκιρτήσας ἀπὸ γαστρὸς, τῷ ἐν γαστρὶ προσκυνηθέντι, ὁ προδραμὼν καὶ προδραμούμενος, τῷ φανέντι καὶ φανησομένῳ.

. . . I ought to be baptized by [(ὑπὸ)] you, the lamp by the [(τῷ)] Sun, the voice by the [(τῷ)] Word, . . .

     St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 39.15 Εἰς τὰ Φῶτα (in Sancta Lumina), as translated in the Office of readings for the Baptism of the Lord, Liturgy of the hours.  Greek from SC 358, 182 ll. 5-12 =PG 36, col. 352C.

"year after year, with our thousand graces, multiplied resolutions, and fair promises, . . . a circle of misery and imperfections"

". . . we know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life, that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.
     "But we lack courage to keep a continual watch over nature, and therefore, year after year, with our thousand graces, multiplied resolutions, and fair promises, we run around in a circle of misery and imperfections. After a long time in the service of God, we come nearly to the point from whence we set out, and perhaps with even less ardor for penance and mortification than when we began. . . ."

     St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Conference, as quoted in the Office of readings for 4 January, Liturgy of the hours (divineoffice.org).

Kierkegaard in thought mainly?

"A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized prayer is listening" or "that prayer is listening."

     As widely (but somewhat erroneously?) attributed to Kierkegaard.  Richard Foster quotes Kierkegaard precisely thus (except with a "that" before that second "prayer") and cites Christian discourses, trans. Lowrie (1940), p. 324 (Celebration of discipline, 20th anniversary ed. (1998), pp. 39 and 212n7), where a reference to true prayer as "silence" (rather than "listening") does indeed occur. On p. 323, by contrast, there is this (plus more in context, yet still not the ipsissima verba above):

He had supposed that to pray is to speak; he learnt that to pray is not merely to be silent but to hear.

According to Søren Kierkegaards Skrifter, this was originally

Han meente at det at bede er at tale; han lærte at det at bede ikke blot er at tie, men er at høre.

(*I have not yet searched exhaustively, however*; just followed the citation at a point where Foster reproduces the wording given above, and where the idea, but not, despite the clear reference to Lowrie, this translation, is present.)

"I will extol thee, O God my king: and I will bless thy name, Jesus, for ever; yea, for ever and ever."

Fra Angelico

"Exaltabo te, Deus meus, Rex:  et benedicam nomini tuo, Jesu, in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi. Alleluja."

     Ps 144:1, but for "Jesu" (Douay-Rheims).  "In votive Masses after Septuagesima" (?) "In Eastertide, instead of the Gradual," under The [Feast of the] Most Holy Name of Jesus, Tridentine Missal.