Every night I lie in bed
This little prayer inside my head
God bless my mom and dad
and bless my children .......

And God, there's just one more thing
I wish that you would do
if you don't mind me asking.........
to just bless my puter too?

Now I know that its not normal
to bless a small machine
but listen just a second
and I'll try to explain...

You see, that little metal box
holds more than odds and ends.
Inside those small components
rest a hundred loving friends.

Some its true I've never seen
and most I've never met
we've never shaken hands or
ever truly hugged, and yet...

I know for sure they love me
by the kindnesses they give
and this little scrap of metal
is how I get to where they live.

By faith is how I know them
much the same as I know you....
by sharing my life it brings them close,
so if its ok with you..
just take an extra minute
from your duties up above...
to bless this little hunk of steel
that's filled with so much love!

We pray for children
.....who put chocolate fingers everywhere,
.....who like to be tickled,
.....who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,
.....who sneak popsicles before supper,
.....who erase holes in math workbooks, and .....who can never find their shoes.

We pray for those
.....who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
.....who can't bound-down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
.....who never "counted potatoes,"
.....who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead,
.....who never go to the circus, and
.....who live in an x-rated world.

We pray for children
.....who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
.....who sleep with the dog and bury the goldfish,
.....who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
.....who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off-key,
.....who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink and who slurp their soup.

We pray for those
.....who never get dessert,
.....who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
.....who watch their parents watch them die,
.....who can't find any bread to steal,
.....who don't have any rooms to clean up,
.....whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
.....and whose monsters are real.

We pray for children
.....who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
.....who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
.....who like ghost stories,
.....who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse-out the tub,
.....who get visits from the tooth fairy,
.....who don't like to be kissed in front of the car pool,
.....who squirm in church and scream in the phone, and
.....whose tears we sometimes laugh at,
.....whose smiles can make us cry.

We pray for those
.....whose nightmares come in the day time,
.....who will eat anything,
.....who have never seen a dentist,
.....who aren't spoiled by anyone,
.....who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, and
.....who live and move but have no being.

We pray for children
.....who want to be carried and for those who must,
.....for those who never give up
.....and for those who don't get a second chance,
.....for those we smother,
.....and for those who will grab the hand of anyone kind enough to offer it.

For these, Oh Lord, we pray. Amen

Adapted from A Prayer for Responsibility for Children by Ina J. Hughes