Daily Prayers for April 4

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968)

Martin Luther King Jr. was a black American preacher who became a civil rights leader, teaching nonviolent resistance to evil, and opposing racism and segregation. Working out of his home in the church, King organized a diverse coalition of -people to combat the evils of racism, poverty, and militarism. In many ways he was a flawed hero, but he was a committed man who died for his faith and for the freedom of his -people. It was while he was advocating for sanitation workers that he was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you

as the day rises to meet the sun.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Song “I Will Trust in the Lord”

In our lives this day, O Lord : may we love you among the least.

Psalm 20:1 4, 6 7

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble : the name of the God of Jacob defend you;

send you help from his holy place : and strengthen you out of Zion;

remember all your offerings : and accept your burnt sacrifice;

grant you your heart’s desire : and prosper all your plans.

Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed : he will answer him out of his holy heaven, with the victorious strength of his right hand.

Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses : but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God.

In our lives this day, O Lord : may we love you among the least.

Exodus 15:22 – 16:10 1 John 2:18 – 29

In our lives this day, O Lord : may we love you among the least.

Martin Luther King Jr. reflected in a sermon, “Every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. Every now and then I ask myself, ‘What is it that I want said?’ I’d like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.”

Prayers for Others

Our Father

We give thanks today for our brother Martin and for the ways you spoke through him to expose the poverty of our wealth, the insecurity of our war-making, and the contradictions of our racism. Give us grace to love you among the least today, O Lord, and to live the good news Martin preached in his life and in his death. Amen.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;

may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;

may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;

may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

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