We cannot merely pray to you, Oh God

We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end war;
For we know that You have made the world in a way
That man must find his own path for peace
Within himself and his neighbor.

We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end starvation;
For you have already given us the resources
With which to feed the entire world
If only we would use them wisely.

We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to root out prejudice;
For you have already given us eyes
With which to see the good in all men
If only we would use them rightly.

We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end despair;
For you have already given us the power
To clear away slums and to give hope
If we would only use our power justly.

We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end disease;
For you have already given us great minds
With which to search out cures and healing
If we would only use them constructively.

Therefore, we pray to you instead, O God,
For strength, determination, and will power,
To do instead of just to pray,
To become instead of merely to wish.

-Jack Reimer