A Brother's Keeper's Prayer

Lord,

I know I'm not perfect
And I appreciate the fact
That you don't want me to be one
You are just happy that I'm human
With all my faults and my weaknesses

But you won't tolerate my excesses
And short-comings
As much as possible
You want me holy
Despite my tendencies to sin and err

There are times when I feel that
I have done enough
But you still ask me to give more
To understand more
To forgive more
To sacrifice a little bit more

But sometimes I feel I want to give up
Sometimes I feel that you are asking
Too much and too many
And that you are difficult to please
And would take no for an answer

When I feel this, grant me courage
To go on, to continue loving
To continue giving the best I have
And being the best that I can be
Let me not be disheartened when things
Don't go my way or when events seem
To prove the otherwise

Make me more and more attuned
To the promptings of your Spirit
Teach me patience
Teach me endurance
Teach me serenity
In short, teach me to be
My brother's keeper.

Because most of the time,
I'm the one who need's keeping.

Amen