Separation of church and me

I received email today
From a friend, a relative, an associate
That said we should pray
For the little ones, the poor
Those too sick to pray for themselves

To pray
For those in the service
Deployed in countries we cannot spell
Fighting for causes not our own
Die for who knows what
Who knows where

To pray for our leadership
To guide us through the difficult economy
The war they created
The social security fiasco
For their arrogance

I receive a lot of emails about who to pray for
With requests and pleas, heart touching stories and horrific details about injustice
Sickness, ailments and death
War torn orphans and crack babies
Housing project rejects and inner city gangs
All crying out for help
All crying for my prayers

Do prayers really help?
Do my words, appeals and petitions really make a difference
to some unknown supreme being
that allows all this pain and unfairness anyway?

Don’t preach to me
Don’t quote scripture
Don’t tell me how the Lord works…

And don’t email me asking for prayers.

You pray your way,
I’ll pray mine…privately.