[Intro – solo female, exposed piano] Are You there... God? I've come to pray again. I thought I'd start with those I love. I'm struggling to begin. [Verse 1 – restrained, cello enters] These days I ask for help with things I used to do; My mind makes plans my body struggles to see through. I thank the one who helps me, apologise as well; Some changes look so ordinary they're difficult to tell. The people that I love have troubles of their own; I hear the shift in how they speak before their hurt is shown. Beyond the ones I love, there's cruelty passed as sense; People ask for kindness, then must speak in self-defence. [Pre-Chorus – tension gathers] Before I've made some sense of mine, another hurt comes near; The words "Please help them, Lord" are what I manage to get clear. There's more than I can offer, far beyond what I can do; So what I cannot answer, God, I bring it here to You. [Chorus – controlled orchestral lift] Are You there... God? I'm struggling to get through; The people I love are hurting, And my own life hurts me too. Are You there... God? There's so much I cannot mend; I bring it all before You, Then start the prayer again. [Post-Chorus – exposed] Please help them, Lord. Please stay with me. [Verse 2 – darker bass, held restraint] Some carrying their own concerns have made the time to care; Their kindness comes back to me, though they've so much to bear. I struggle to accept it when there's so much I can't do; At times the care they offer is what helps me make it through. Then came a little space between the troubles and demands; For once I wasn't reaching for an answer or a plan. The first thing that I felt was something horribly like peace; Their struggles carried on. I wished that feeling wouldn't cease. [Pre-Chorus – percussion recedes] I came to pray for those I love, the usual words prepared; I almost said "Thank You" for the moments I was spared. That smallest sense of distance had outlasted my Amen; And I was almost wishing I could have that peace again. [Chorus – increasing strain] Are You there... God? I'm struggling to get through; The people I love are hurting, And my own life hurts me too. Are You there... God? There's so much I cannot mend; I nearly thanked You for that peace, And wanted it again. [Post-Chorus – faltering] I nearly said, "Thank You." The words were almost there. [Verse 3 – close vocal, unsettled] The words I once disputed came so readily to mind: "They'll manage." I could almost make them sound concerned and kind. The sentence started sounding like a reasonable reply; I caught myself agreeing, and couldn't tell You why. And people have shown kindness when their own lives were a strain; Their care has reached me in the middle of my own pain. The second prayer was waiting, just beyond my Amen; I couldn't bear to finish it, so started theirs again. [Bridge – bare piano to orchestral crescendo] Lord, I nearly asked You for a little less to feel. At first I meant this body and the things it cannot do; The ordinary freedoms gone, the help that gets me through. Then came the other part, the one I couldn't say: To hear somebody hurting, then go about my day. To know the people that I love are struggling and afraid, And have that knowledge leave me as though their hurt could wait. Those who are struggling themselves have taken time to care; I nearly asked for distance from the love they choose to share. God, for one appalling moment, I was hoping You'd agree; I nearly offered up the part of me that lets them matter to me. So much has changed without my choice, the cost has been severe; And I was nearly asking You to take what brought me here. [Pre-Chorus – exposed, climbing] "Please help them, Lord." I start again, The words familiar through the strain. But there was something I almost prayed That could have changed what I became. [Final Chorus – raw orchestral peak] Are You there... God? I'm struggling to get through; The people I love are hurting, And my own life hurts me too. Are You there... God? I nearly asked You to take The part of me that hears their suffering; Please help me let it stay. [Post-Chorus – orchestra withdraws] Please help them, Lord. Please help me care. [Outro – bare piano, unresolved] So much has changed already, So much I cannot choose. God, if You'd answered that second prayer, Would I have known what I'd asked to lose?
