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"Thou, Dear God": Prayers That Open Hearts and Spirits

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From the Lincoln Monument he proclaimed, "I have a dream!" From a pulpit in Memphis, Tennessee he proclaimed, "I've been to the mountaintop!" For all the speaking and marching we have looked past the prayer life of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A spiritual leader and theologian par excellence, King's prayer life was central to his mission.

Lewis V. Baldwin has collected and edited 68 prayers in Thou, Dear God. These prayers reflect the myriad of situations and subject matter King engaged. Though only 68 prayers, we are able to catch a glimpse into King's spiritual bedrock.

In this globalized age some congregations are seeking to reclaim a prophetic voice. They are learning what it means to enact social justice. Along the way it remains easy to lose the prayer life. King's prayers remind those that seek to do justice as empowered by faith not to lose the connection to the divine.

As I read this book I found myself challenged to reimagine what "prayer" means. For King it was not only petitioning God or interceding on behalf of the community, but an extension of the work of justice. Awakened, I was, to the power of short, simple prayer that challenges our structures and our daily living.

In January 1956 King delivered a prayer at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church after several homes and churches of civil rights activists had been bombed and destroyed by white bigots. His words are simple, yet prophetic. "Lord, I hope no one will have to die as a result of our struggle for freedom in Montgomery. Certainly I don't want to die. But if anyone has to die, let it be me."

Then there's the prayer offered at the end of his "Palm Sunday Sermon on Mohandas K. Gandhi" on March 22, 1959. In it he says, "We call you different names: some call Thee Allah; some call you Elohim; some call you Jehovah; some call you Brahma...But we know that these are all names for one and the same God, and we know you are one." King believed in ecumenism and interfaith work, for he knew justice flows most strongly when small streams unite into one river.

For religious leaders of all faiths, and even for Atheists, Thou, Dear God unlocks fresh ways to see our relationship with one another and the divine mystery. These 68 prayers, though only a snippet of King's prayers, have embolden me to discover in what ways prayer can be an extension and embodiment of justice.

Perhaps King prays it best, "Lord teach me to unselfishly serve humanity."

And to that, I think everyone can say, "Amen."