Possible Answers to Prayer
"Possible Answers to Prayer" by Scott Cairns
Your petitions-though they continue to bear
just the one signature-have been duly recorded.
Your anxieties-despite their constant,
relatively narrow scope and inadvertent
entertainment value-nonetheless serve
to bring your person vividly to mind.
Your repentance-all but obscured beneath
a burgeoning, yellow fog of frankly more
conspicuous resentment-is sufficient.
Your intermittent concern for the sick,
the suffering, the needy poor is sometimes
recognizable to me, if not to them.
Your angers, your zeal, your lipsmackingly
righteous indignation toward the many
whose habits and sympathies offend you-
these must burn away before you’ll apprehend
how near I am, with what fervor I adore
precisely these, the several who rouse your passions.
I am definitely NOT a fan of poetry most of the time, but I had to find one for school and I came across this and I love it. I can totally see God having this outlook on our prayers when they are selfish and insincere - He hates these things, but He is so gentle with us anyway. I had to do some research on the author for class as well. He has been Baptist, Presbyterian and Orthodox, which I think is awesome, and he's written primarily Christian poetry over his career...I think I might actually look into some of his writing. This being noteworthy because, as I said, I am not a fan of poetry.
Comments are appreciated, and feel free to friend me! I am still learning LJ but I can function pretty well at this point. :)
Ray
Your petitions-though they continue to bear
just the one signature-have been duly recorded.
Your anxieties-despite their constant,
relatively narrow scope and inadvertent
entertainment value-nonetheless serve
to bring your person vividly to mind.
Your repentance-all but obscured beneath
a burgeoning, yellow fog of frankly more
conspicuous resentment-is sufficient.
Your intermittent concern for the sick,
the suffering, the needy poor is sometimes
recognizable to me, if not to them.
Your angers, your zeal, your lipsmackingly
righteous indignation toward the many
whose habits and sympathies offend you-
these must burn away before you’ll apprehend
how near I am, with what fervor I adore
precisely these, the several who rouse your passions.
I am definitely NOT a fan of poetry most of the time, but I had to find one for school and I came across this and I love it. I can totally see God having this outlook on our prayers when they are selfish and insincere - He hates these things, but He is so gentle with us anyway. I had to do some research on the author for class as well. He has been Baptist, Presbyterian and Orthodox, which I think is awesome, and he's written primarily Christian poetry over his career...I think I might actually look into some of his writing. This being noteworthy because, as I said, I am not a fan of poetry.
Comments are appreciated, and feel free to friend me! I am still learning LJ but I can function pretty well at this point. :)
Ray