1. When the church of Jesus shuts its outer door
lest the roar of traffic drown the voice of prayer:
may our prayers, Lord, make us even more aware
that the world we banish is our Christian care.

2. If our hearts are lifted where devotion soars
high above this hungry suff'ring world of ours:
lest our hymns should drug us to forget its needs,
forge our Christian worship into Christian deeds.

3. Lest the gifts we offer— money, talents, time—
serve to salve our conscience to our secret shame:
Lord, reprove, inspire us by the way you give;
teach us, dying Savior, how true Christians live.