God helps those who help themselves

• God helps them that help themselves
• heaven helps those who help themselves
• the Lord helps those who help themselves

First appearing in English (in this form) in 1698, in Algernon Sidney's Discourses Concerning Government, chapter 2, section 23. Translation of a maxim found in Ancient Greek and Roman literature; equivalent proverbs are found in many languages, such as Hungarian and Italian.

God helps those who help themselves

1. Good fortune or providential aid comes to those who make an effort to accomplish things.

• God works in mysterious ways