We Cannot Pray.

We cannot pray
for the poor
if we walk by on the other side.

We cannot pray
for the hungry
and continue to waste our food.

We cannot pray
for the exploited
and buy the products that enslave them.

We cannot pray
for the persecuted
if we support the bully.

We cannot pray
for the unemployed
and still value only the lowest price.

God of forgiveness,
in this world of sin,
we dare not pray,
for we, ourselves, are ensnared in sin.

Forgive us,
that we cannot live lives without sin,
that we cannot escape the systems of death,
that we cannot change the world.

Forgive us.
Hear our prayers,
and change us
to become part of the solution.

-Clare McBeath and Tim Presswood,
Crumbs of Hope: Prayers from the City