The Prayer Pitch

This poem is about praying meaningful prayers.

Consider Matthew 6:7. This is Jesus speaking: “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Ecclesiastes 5:2 likewise warns against not being “quick with your mouth” or “hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.” Long prayers are not bad if the heart is right. The point is that it is not through many words our prayers will be heard or answered.

Of course God cares about the small details and intricacies of our lives. He is our Father. But how often do we pray, “Your kingdom come”? What is the ratio of prayers concerning our kingdom and those concerning God’s? These are questions I ask myself. Our woes are not forgotten by our Father, but we must not forget His agenda and work and the call of God to pray, serve, and intercede.

The “Not Forgotten” title of this poem applies to both halves. Our everyday needs and deficiencies before God are “not forgotten.” He is not unaware. At the same time, prayer as worship, adoration, confession, supplication, thanksgiving, and intercession and those we pray for must be “not forgotten.”

Not Forgotten

I pray for the world, the people I know,

The lands to which I will never go,

The people I will never see,

The soul of this celebrity,

The test on Friday I need to pass,

The teacher of my favorite class,

The friend I’ve tried to call for days,

The boss who gave me that extra raise,

The popular people that everyone sees,

The person that I need to please,

The president when I agree,

The one I want to notice me,

The stranger who will read my text,

The game that I have Tuesday next,

The deal I’ll have to make to live,

The speech that I will have to give,

The work that I have yet to do,

The college I’m applying to,

The missionary my pastor said—

And whatever else floats through my head.

When shall we learn from the psalmists’ expression

Worship, surrender, thanksgiving, confession?

In supplication—O privilege and grace—

Let us not forget Your holy place,

To pray for those that heaven sees—

The left, abandoned least of these—

The enemies who plague our life,

The ones who bring to calmness strife,

The friend in trouble, the one enslaved,

The brother deceived, the parent unsaved.

O let us come, humble and still.

If we don’t pray for these, who will?

He knows. He loves—no need to impress.

When will we ask for righteousness?

He’s patient and willing, gentle, forgiving.

O save us from such selfish living.

Let us repent and worship anew

And praise our God for what He’ll do.

O let the ransomed join heaven and sing,

Sovereign, eternal Shepherd and King.