What doth hinder thee
From thy forward march?
The command has been given
But we are yet to start.
We have prayed a lot
And we have fasted too,
But little sign of movement
From me or from you.
Could it be, I ask,
That prayer is a cop-out
And things that we can do
We now have doubts?
Or, are we afraid to do
What we can do
And so, we just pray to God
To take us through?
Are there untouchables
That we dare not touch
For these are special people
That are giving much?
Too much to be lost
If they are exposed
So, no sense opening that door;
Keep it closed!
Going through the motions
Has become the norm,
And like the prophets of Baal,
Prayer is a mere form.
A ritual more or less
If you see what I mean
Where within a given hour or so
We blow off steam.
With shouts and screams
We try to convince God
That He needs to do something
About what we appall.
We fight the devil
And we do so with might
Believing that through prayer
We could put him to flight.
And having silenced him
Our church will glow
In spite of the disagreeableness
That festers and grows.
It is still united we stand
But divided we fall
And in the latter, forward march
Will come to a stall.
Then we could pray
Until the cows come home
Nothing much will be achieved
If we’re in the wrong zone.
Call a solemn assembly
But not to pray,
Rather, pinpoint what’s wrong
And go the right way.
Often in a huff and puff
We make bad decisions
That have far-reaching effect
On our institutions.
Then we point fingers
And apportion blame
And this looks to the outsider
As though we are insane.
See the great Joshua
Down on his face
Praying and beseeching God
After the Ai’s disgrace.
Imagine the horror
Brought on by one man!
Defeat followed a great victory
Because of Achan.
A far weaker opposition
Gained the ascendency
Over the Joshua-led Israelites’
Superior army.
Bitterness is accursed
And weighs one down,
Bitterness with unforgiveness
Hinders getting along.
It impedes progress
As in forward marching,
It is like spinning top in mud
And severely crippling.
God will not do for us
What we ourselves can do,
Never mind how much we pray
We won’t get through.
If something is wrong
We must talk it through
And we must act out this in love
As believers should do.
Search out the camp
And our own selves too,
There’s a whole lot together
That we can do.
Get up from praying
And brush off your knee,
Get together with the brethren;
This is my plea.
Stewart Russell © January 9, 2025
