Pray Anyway

We hope that our prayer will catch fire and burn.

We don’t know.
We pray anyway.

We’ve been told that our cries make you move.

We don’t know.
We pray anyway.

We come with our tears,
With our love,
With our pleading,

We’ve heard that you hear, that you see our entreating;

We bang on your doors
And rattle your cages;
Our prayer’s never mere.

Our coming in faith
Is betting it all,
Wager everything here–

Wager hope
Wager love
Wager faith
Wager ALL–

That Divinity’s there
And heard it before
We uttered a word–
Hand ready to help.

Helping ever,
Helping always,
Helping now…

But we don’t know.
We just don’t know.
We can’t know.

We pray anyway.

Ragged and worn
From all our beseeching,
Hands bloodied and bruised
Throat parched with the screeching,

We crumble and fall at your gates
And we wait…

Are you there?

Give us even a small sign.
Anything.

Answer us.