I was surprised, perhaps shocked, by a prayer written by The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am sure that was King’s intention. I will let you read it before I share my thoughts.

A Prayer for the Church

Lord, we thank you for your church, founded upon your Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended upon us and not upon you.

Help us to realize that humanity was created to shine like the stars and live on through all eternity. Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace. Help us to walk together, pray together, sing together, and live together, until that day when all God’s children - Black, White, Red, Brown and Yellow - will rejoice in one common bond of humanity in the reign of our Lord and of our God, we pray, Amen.

Did anything startle you?

This phrase has stayed with me for days: “ … the very answer to our prayers depended upon us and not upon you.”

My first reaction was to scream words from my favorite scripture (Joshua 1:9) at King: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

And in the final words of Matthew, in The Great Commission, Jesus makes a promise. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I am never alone. We are never alone. We have assurances. Why should our prayers “depend upon us” when our God has promised to be with us?

It took time for me to see King’s intentions. He is calling for more urgency. He’s urging us, at the end of our prayers, to get off of our knees and walk to the work site. Don’t pray “Lord, Help the homeless” and leave it in His hands. The prayer should be “Help us help the homeless” and it must be followed by an effort to minister to the homeless. His promise is that He will meet us there.

King is also placing responsibility on churches. Do we, as a church, challenge each other “to do more than “sing and pray but go out and work … ?” Do we encourage each other to extend beyond the worship hour?

The verses I quoted, I realize now, are both found at the beginning of great journeys, extraordinary efforts. Joshua is leading God’s people into the Promised Land. The disciples are being charged with a mission to “all nations.” The promises of God are offered as energy, as fuel, as nourishment as we build a world where “all God’s children - Black, White, Red, Brown and Yellow - will rejoice in one common bond of humanity in the reign of our Lord and of our God.“

Photo by Mike Licht