A Prayer of Martin Luther King Jr.

Scripture — Ephesians 5:1-2 (NRSV)

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Devotion

Today is the third Monday in January. This means it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, a national holiday on which we remember the exceptional life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Today is Dr. King’s actual birthday. He was born on January 15, 1929.) We remember Dr. King most of all for his transformational work related to racial justice in the United States. But often we are not aware of Dr. King’s depth as a theologian, pastor, and person of mature Christian faith.

We can see strong evidence of these qualities in a prayer written by Martin Luther King before he earned his doctorate (a PhD in theology from Boston University in 1955). In the summers of his years in graduate school, Martin would often help his father, who was the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Among his tasks was writing prayers for the radio broadcasts of the worship services. Several of these handwritten prayers are preserved among Dr. King’s papers at Stanford University. One is published in “Thou, Dear God”: Prayers That Open Hearts and Spirits, by Martin Luther King Jr., ed. by Lewis V. Baldwin (Boston: Beacon Press, 2014).

A couple of things about this prayer strike me. First, it was written by King when he was only 24 years old. Such profound and articulate faith for a young man! Second, it is as needed and appropriate today as it was 70 years ago when King wrote it.

So, with no further ado, here’s the prayer of Dr. King:

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 you. 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 your will. Give us the courage to do your will. Give us the devotion to love your will. In the name and spirit of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Banner image by Bernd Dittrich on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: How Should You Imitate God?.

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