May Your mercies be aroused, Lord our God, upon the righteous, upon the pious, upon the elders of Your people, the House of Israel, upon the remnant of their sages, upon the righteous proselytes and upon us. Grant ample reward to all who truly trust in Your Name, and place our lot among them; may we never be disgraced, for we have put our trust in You. Blessed are You Lord, the support and security of the righteous. Return in mercy to Jerusalem Your city and dwell therein as You have promised; speedily establish therein the throne of David Your servant, and rebuild it, soon in our days, as an everlasting edifice. Blessed are You Lord, who rebuilds Jerusalem. Speedily cause the scion of David Your servant to flourish, and increase his power by Your salvation, for we hope for Your salvation all day. Blessed are You Lord, who causes the power of salvation to flourish. Hear our voice, Lord our God; merciful Father, have compassion upon us and accept our prayers in mercy and favor, for You are God who hears prayers and supplications; do not turn us away empty-handed from You, our King, for You hear the prayer of everyone. Blessed are You Lord, who hears prayer.

Trying to make sense of a transliteration of the Amidah prayer, I am pretty sure the mercy being prayed for so intensely is the Hebrew racham.

Other than mercy this is most often translated as compassion. There is a clear suggestion, especially in Isaiah, of forgiveness.

Forgive us, have compassion on us, and return us to power. This strikes me as a fair summary of the prayer.

Yesterday, speeding through the orchards of California's Central Valley as sign outside a church read, "Many want to serve the Lord... as advisers."

We come to God with our desires. I am not suggesting we should not. But we should also stay around long enough - and be open enough - to hear if God might have some advice regarding our desires.