Prayer by the Lake

Wherein lies the power of prayer? Do we really believe that our prayers are answered or not, by some unknowable deity? Turn on the television most days and you will hear some public official sending his or her thoughts and prayers to the families suffering from some tragic circumstance. Who benefits most, I have to wonder? The victims or the person doing the praying?

To whom do you pray when the day is dark?

And if those prayers are left unanswered,

Where do you turn?

For what do you pray when your soul is troubled,

A miracle in time or a simple smile?

What have you learned?

Does it matter if I pray in the day or the night,

Before I sleep or when I wake,

To make it right?

And where should I pray to feel His presence,

A house of stone or by a shimmering lake?

Show me the light.

Tell me why I should pray at all in the end,

Without certainty, no receipt do I take,

Just thoughts to send.

Does it matter then if it’s to no avail?

If it’s the deed itself that matters most,

In the end, to help me mend.