[intro – organ + quiet choir hum] (Mm, yeah…) Life ain’t easy, but I’m still breathin’. [verse 1 – spoken-to-rap, reflective] I used to pray for the weight to get lighter, Hopin’ storms would fade, hopin’ days would get brighter. But the world don’t bend for the man who waits, It bends for the soul who can carry the weight. Every scar that I earned is a sermon I keep, Every night with no rest is the proof I don’t sleep. I don’t beg for a path with no pain, no fight, I just pray for the strength to walk through the night. [pre-chorus – choir echoes the last line] (Pray for the strength… to walk through the night…) [chorus – gospel choir + lead vocal] Don’t pray for an easy road, Pray for the strength to endure. Don’t beg for a lighter load, Pray for a spirit that’s pure. The fire’s where you find your truth, The trial’s where your crown gets proof. Don’t pray for an easy road, Pray for the strength to endure. [verse 2 – faster flow, urgency builds] I been tested in silence, been drowned in doubt, Had the walls close in, had to claw my way out. “Do not pray for the ease,” that’s the line I breathe, I been sharpened by the weight that was meant to bleed me. I don’t curse at the mountain, I just climb that stone, If the night gets cold, I still call it home. Every burden I carry builds muscle in my soul, I’m alive in the struggle, I’m becoming whole. [pre-chorus – choir call + response] (I don’t pray for the easy life…) – “No!” (I just pray for the strength to fight…) – “Go!” [chorus – repeat, even bigger, layered harmonies] Don’t pray for an easy road, Pray for the strength to endure. Don’t beg for a lighter load, Pray for a spirit that’s pure. The fire’s where you find your truth, The trial’s where your crown gets proof. Don’t pray for an easy road, Pray for the strength to endure. [bridge – beat drops, spoken-word over quiet choir] Ease don’t teach, pain is the lesson. Comfort don’t reach, struggle’s the blessing. If I rise through the storm, I can stand through the fall, If the world tests me hard, I can handle it all. [final chorus – biggest lift, full choir + strings] Don’t pray for an easy road, Pray for the strength to endure. Don’t beg for a lighter load, Pray for a spirit that’s pure. The fire’s where you find your truth, The trial’s where your crown gets proof. Don’t pray for an easy road, Pray for the strength to endure. [outro – organ + fading choir] (Strength to endure… strength to endure…)
