Praying—and putting prayer into action—for all people
Prayers and a poem on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Image credit: Diocese of Rockville Centre
Michael King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. “In 1934, however, his father, a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, traveled to Germany and became inspired by the Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther. As a result, King Sr. changed his own name as well as that of his five-year-old son” (History.com).
The work of Martin Luther King, Jr.—in society as well as in his ministry—strongly reminded us of the need to pray for, care for, and value each and every one of our neighbors.
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I’ll share here on The Electric Gospel a pair of prayers from King’s career as a minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, as well as another poem and prayer fitting for this day.
These two prayers come from handwritten manuscripts from use in worship services:
- O thou Eternal God, out of whose absolute power and infinite intelligence the whole universe has come into being: We humbly confess that we have not loved thee with our hearts, souls and minds and we have not loved our neighbors as Christ loved us. We have all too often lived by our own selfish impulses rather than by the life of sacrificial love as revealed by Christ. We often give in order to receive, we love our friends and hate our enemies, we go the first mile but dare not travel the second, we forgive but dare not forget. And so as we look within ourselves we are confronted with the appalling fact that the history of our lives is the history of an eternal revolt against thee. But thou, O God, have mercy upon us. Forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. Give us the intelligence to know thy will. Give us the courage to do thy will. Give us the devotion to love thy will. In the name and spirit of Jesus we pray.
- Our loving Father, from thy hand have come all the days of the past. To thee we look for whatever good the future holds. We are not satisfied with the world as we have found it. It is too little the kingdom of God as yet. Grant us the privilege of a part in its regeneration. We are looking for a new earth in which dwells righteousness. It is our prayer that we may be children of light, the kind of people for whose coming and ministry the world is waiting.
Excerpted from “Prayers,” The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on the third Monday of January, falls on or near the date MLK Jr. was born (January 15, 1929). For us as Christians, the observance fittingly falls in the season of Epiphany, a time focused on the manifestation of Jesus Christ as hope and Savior for all persons in the world. “The appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus” has “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).* We seek to continue to reveal and share the grace given to us in Jesus.
Suited for Epiphany season, another Baptist minister and civil rights leader, Howard Thurman, composed a poem, “When the Song of Angels is Stilled.” Thurman’s words make us mindful of the ongoing call of Christians in a world that needs the light of Christ.
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
Published in The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations,
by Howard Thurman © 1985 by Friends United Press.
Permit one more prayer thought here, from another minister and proponent of social justice, Walter Rauschenbusch. Born the son of a Lutheran missionary to German immigrants in the United States, Rauschenbusch went on to become ordained as minister of the Second German Baptist Church in New York City. The following prayer of his is excerpted from The Communion of Saints: Prayers of the Famous (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1990).
O God, the Father of us all, we praise you for having bound humanity in a great unity of life so that each must lean on the strength of all, and depend for his comfort and safety on the help and labor of his brothers and sisters.
We invoke your blessing on all the men and women who have toiled to build and warm our homes, to fashion our clothing, and to wrest from sea and land the food that nourishes us and our children. We pray you that they may have health and joy, hope and love, even as we desire for our loved ones.
Grant us wisdom to deal justly with every man and woman whom we face in the business of life. May we not unknowingly inflict suffering through selfish indifference or the willful ignorance of a callous heart.
May the time come when we need wear and use nothing that is wet in your sight with human tears, or cheapened by wearing down the lives of the weak.
Speak to our souls and bid us strive for the coming of your kingdom of justice when your merciful and saving will shall be done on earth.
* Scripture quotation from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
