O God, hear my prayer

O God – my divine Parent, my Father, my Mother, Ancient of Ages, before and beyond all common ways of time’s counting and the measuring of days – I pray You hear this my daily prayer I raise, first in your praise, then, please, not for mine ease of living.

For life, as Langston taught, oft “ain’t been no crystal stair” of seasons fair, of pastures verdant, plush, of woods leaf-rich, lush, of waters still, of balmy breezes pleasant, but rather tempest-tossed, bearing the casualty of courage-lost.

Nay, O God, I pray not for mine ease of living, but rather for the strength of Your Spirit that by Her might I may live only by the merit of your grace. Amen.

© 2021 PRA

Endnote: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair from the poem Mother to Son (1922) by Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

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