need

Standing in the Need of Prayer

Oh, Lord, I
need you.

The ragged woman on the street corner with the
‘Please help’ sign, did she
park her Mercedes around the corner, wanting to
gull the masses instead of
working an honest day?

Oh, Lord, I
need you.need

The girl on crutches, clumping towards class,
again. Has she injured herself
for real? Or does she just need attention
because of the
gaping holes in her life?

Oh, Lord, I
need you.

A boy sits at his desk, eyes hidden
behind sunglasses in the dimly lit
classroom. Does he hide tears of
pain? Or the bloodshot eyes of a
recent high?

Oh, Lord, I
need you.

A mother spills her angst over Facebook’s
shiny feed. I settle back in my chair and
focus on everything that mom has done
wrong. I know what she
should do. Ask me.

Oh, Lord, I
need you.

Another brother in Christ spontaneously
combusts in public. Hidden
sins; unnatural
proclivities; misused money. Ruining the name of
Christians everywhere.

Oh, Lord, I need you.
Save me from my judgmental self.
Open my eyes to see the pain
behind the masks.
Cleve my heart. I
need you.

The Five Minute Friday Scoop

If you’ve never heard of Five Minute Friday, and you’re a curious person or a writer (or both), check out the community. We meet each week on Thursday nights on Twitter (#fmfparty) and talk about random things while awaiting the weekly prompt. The conversation inevitably leads to chocolate, and towards the end of the hour, when Kate Motaung shares the prompt, the party empties as everyone furiously writes for five minutes. Or thinks on the prompt until the next day.

After the twitter party, we share our posts via a link up, and spend the rest of the week visiting and supporting each other’s efforts. If you like a challenge, and you like community, join us!

All too often I fail to see my own need because I'm too busy judging someone else's. #fmfparty Click To Tweet

14 Comments

  1. How true that is! Sometimes it is too painful to see other people’s needs because it involves recognising the plank in our own eye. Thank you, Anita, for expressing this so beautifully in your prayer poem.

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Anita Ojeda

Anita Ojeda juggles writing with teaching high school English and history. When she's not lurking in odd places looking for rare birds, you can find her camping with her kids, adventuring with her husband or mountain biking with her students.

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