Prayer for Martin Luther King, Jr Day

Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Leader and Martyr, 1968

Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 Dr. King went to Memphis in April 1968 to support African-American sanitation workers striking for better wages. Their picket signs, reading I AM A MAN, spoke to the heart of the dispute: not just wages but manhood and dignity. (Lance Murphey/The New York Times)

 Sit-ins are commemorated at the expanded museum; students sat peacefully at segregated lunch counters in discount department stores, hoping to be served, but they never were. Store managers would call the police, who would order the students to disperse, and when they did not, they were arrested. (Lance Murphey/The New York Times)

The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee where Dr. King was killed was formed into the National Civil Rights Museum after his death, and now it has been renovated with several new, acclaimed displays, including this sculptural reproduction of a slave galley. (Lance Murphey/The New York Times)

Prayer and images sourced from DailyOffice.org