Jake the rancher went one day
To fix a distant fence.
The wind was cold and gusty,
And the clouds were gray and dense.
        
As he pounded the last staples in,
And gathered tools to go,
The temperature had fallen
And the snow began to blow.

        

When he finally reached his pickup,
He felt a heavy heart;
From the sound of that ignition,
He knew it wouldn't start.

        

So Jake did what most of us would do,
If we would have been there---
He humbly bowed his balding head,
And sent a heart-felt prayer.

        

As he turned the key the last time,
He softly cursed his luck;
They found him, three days later,
Frozen stiff in that old truck.

        

Now Jake had been around in life,
And done his share of roamin'
But he was shocked when he saw heaven,
For it looked just like Wyomin'.

        

Of all the saints in heaven,
His favorite was Saint Peter;
And when Jake got to heaven,
Well, guess who was the greeter?.

        

They set and talked a minute or two,
Or maybe even three;
There wasn't no one keepin' score---
In heaven, time is free.

        

"Ive always heard," Jake said to Pete,
"That God will answer prayer.
But the one time when I asked for help,
Well, He just plain wasn't there."

        

"Does God answer the prayers of some,
But not the prayers of others?
That don't seem exactly right---
I thought all men were brothers."

        

"Or does He randomly reply,
Without good rhyme or reason?
Or maybe it's the time of day,
The weather or the season."

        

"Now I ain't tryin' to act smart,
It's just the way I feel.
And I wondered could you tell me,
Just what the heck's the deal?"

        

Peter listened very patiently,
And then when Jake was done,
There were smiles of recognition,
And he said, "So you're the one!"

        

"That day when your truck wouldn't start,
And you sent your prayer a'flyin'
You gave us all a real bad time,
With hundreds of us tryin' "

        

"A thousand angels rushed to check
The status of your file,
But you know, Jake, we hadn't heard
From you in quite a while.

        

And though all prayers are answered,
And God ain't got no quota,
He didn't recognize your voice,
And started a truck in North Dakota!"


~ Bill Jones, Cowboy Poet~