I recently hit a rough spot
In a life filled with rough spots.
In a weak moment,
I told an acquaintance.
She said, “I’ll keep you in my prayers.”
I’ll keep you in my prayers.
That is all she offered to me
In my sorrow and pain.
Now to some that is enough.
A social understanding
That we are all helpless
In a raging shit-storm.
So I will say this phrase
And we can part
And avoid any unpleasantness
And think there is hope.
To me, prayer was always
More for the one who prays
Than for the object of her prayers.
It makes that person focus on a problem
Until a solution appears
Which should eventually lead to an action.
“God, please give me that promotion.”
Eventually, you will realize that
Until you merit that promotion
By going the extra mile,
You don’t deserve that promotion.
And that will change you
Into someone who deserves the promotion.
But does God listen?
“Prayer hotline, this is God,
How can I help you?”
If God is God,
Shouldn’t he already know our sorrow?
Will he help us only if we ask?
And only if we ask in the right way?
Does that mean that God wants us to suffer?
Should a parent not feed her baby
If the baby doesn’t ask?
If God will listen to me, and not to you,
Does that mean that God favors
One person over another?
One group over another?
Does this mean the racists are right?
Of course not.
This is an ego trip,
If you think you have a direct
Hotline to an all powerful being.
Is God your errand boy
And you just give him a honey-do list?
If you must pray,
Ask for guidance
On how you could help,
And then help.
And the next time someone
Tells you their sorrow,
Ask, “How can I help?”
And then do what you can.
Prayer is not a substitute for action.
It is action.
“He prayeth best,
Who loveth best,
All things both great and small,
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.”
-Cooleridge