-- Unanswered Prayers –

John Herlihy

When we pray to God, what is the real reason?

Some prayers may in truth be a form of treason.

Do we pray only because we want a clear answer?

Do we pray to be spared when meeting a panther?

We often pray with the answer already in our mind,

All those vague hopes and dreams, as if seeing blind.

Expecting a direct answer is like making a demand,

As if the Lord is at our beck and call, on command.

You think your own answer lies waiting in the wings,

There to make its bold entrance as your heart sings.

Therein lies the treason in thinking you know best;

God’s answer may not be the answer you blessed.

Our Divine Lord communicates to us in many ways,

So many signs to reveal His message, so many days.

Countless signs, innumerable hints, bottomless wells,

Divine rays of dawn and dusk and their mystical spells.

Even God’s silence has the force of documented sound;

If not expecting a thing particular, the answer profound.

Faith as one’s hands on ancient parchment, reading braille;

You don’t need to see or hear to understand the tale.

Abandon Him, and you will in recompense be abandoned;

Reach out freely to Him, He is your one true companion.

Project expectations on Him thru some answered prayer

Runs risk of being disappointed, thinking He doesn’t care.

The next time you wish to speak to God, close your eyes,

The invisible visible, inaudible audible, more than you realize.

Prayer our deepest form of communication, God is there;

With you wherever you are, there is no unanswered prayer.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Tuesday 17 May 2022