We Cannot Merely Pray

I ran across this in some old literature from when I was very involved with my local PTA, I don't know much about this man, but I do agree with his words here...


We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end war;
For we know that You have made the world in a way
That man must find his own path to peace
Within himself and with his neighbor.
We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end starvation;
For you have already given us the resources
With which to feed the entire world
If we could only use them wisely.
We cannot merely pray to You, O God,
To root out prejudice,
For You have already given us eyes
With which to see the good in all men
If we would only use them rightly.
We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end despair,
For You have already given us the power
To clear away slums and to give hope
If we would only use our power justly.
We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end disease,
For you have already given us great minds with which
To search out cures and healing,
If we could only use them consructively.
Therefor we pray to You instead, O God,
For strength, determination, and willpower,
To do instead of just to pray,
To become instead of merely to wish.

~~Jack Riemer
(Likrat Shabbat)