Quote of the Week 235 - Prayer and Responsibility

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 to peace

Within himself and with 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 we would only 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 we would only 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 willpower,

To do instead of just to pray,

To become instead of merely to wish.

--Rabbi Jack Riemer, quoted in When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner