Make Me Discontented

O God,
make me discontented with things the way they are in the world,
and in my own life.
Make me notice the stains when people get spilled on.
Make me care about children and adults in poverty,
the misfit at work,
the people crammed into the mental hospital,
the men, women, and youth behind bars.

Jar my complacency,
expose my excuses,
get me involved in the life of my city and world.

Give me integrity once more, O God,
as we seek to be changed and transformed,
with a new understanding and awareness of
our common humanity.

(a prayer by Robert Raines, adapted; found by way of Leonard Sweet's Facebook page. Photo via everystockphoto.com)