| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
| |
| 1077. Prayer |
| | | By Charles Francis Richardson |
| |
| |
| IF, when I kneel to pray, | |
| With eager lips I say: | |
| “Lord, give me all the things that I desire,— | |
| Health, wealth, fame, friends, brave heart, religious fire, | |
| The power to sway my fellow-men at will, | 5 |
| And strength for mighty works to banish ill,”— | |
| In such a prayer as this | |
| The blessing I must miss. | |
| |
| Or if I only dare | |
| To raise this fainting prayer: | 10 |
| “Thou seest, Lord, that I am poor and weak, | |
| And cannot tell what things I ought to seek; | |
| I therefore do not ask at all, but still | |
| I trust thy bounty all my wants to fill,”— | |
| My lips shall thus grow dumb, | 15 |
| The blessing shall not come. | |
| |
| But if I lowly fall, | |
| And thus in faith I call: | |
| “Through Christ, O Lord, I pray thee give to me | |
| Not what I would, but what seems best to thee | 20 |
| Of life, of health, of service, and of strength, | |
| Until to thy full joy I come at length,”— | |
| My prayer shall then avail, | |
| The blessing shall not fail. | |
| |
|
|
|
