Great God, I ask for no meaner pelf
Than that I may not disappoint myself,
That in my action I may soar as high
As I can now discern with this clear eye.
And next in value, which thy kindness lends,
That I may greatly disappoint my friends,
Howe’er they think or hope that it may be,
They may not dream how thou’st distinguished me.

That my weak hand may equal my firm faith
And my life practice what my tongue saith
That my low conduct may not show
Nor my relenting lines
That I thy purpose did not know
Or overrated thy designs.
– Henry David Thoreau

(My Thoughts:)

This is just an amazing poetry and one that I often think of in my mind sometimes. From start to finish it just adds strength in my mind. I love how the poem starts with “Great God, I ask for no meaner pelf than that I may not disappoint myself.” Wow! just amazing.

My favorite part

“That my weak hand may equal my firm faith”

Why I love that part of the poem? It just means a lot to me as no matter how weak you may be, your faith is just not weak. In other words, no matter how or what I do, I will do it putting it towards my faith and moving forward with it.

As much as weak I may be, I will equal it to my faith and keep going forward with it. In other words, I will struggle with weakness until I overcome it and equal it to my faith. Same with me and same with you along with everyone else. We can all go forward and keep our head up high because we have high faith.

Nice prayer poem and always remember that God is watching over us from above.