Can We Pray Back In Time?

Can we pray back in time?

We can disagree on many issues of Civil Rights. However, looking beyond the issues, to those sitting at the table we find agreement in Martin Luther King being a peaceful man. He was a brother, a fine husband and a good father. He was a man of God, who spoke frequently and boldly of His word.

Stepping back to the days he served, imagine the fear his wife, Coretta was surely gripped with every time Dr. King walked out the doorway of their home. Think about the anxiety Dr. King and his wife wrestled as they attempted to lay their heads down at night to sleep. Sleep? Prayers for safety from wickedness that hovered so close. Protection over their home, over their children. Did they have the high-tech alarm systems back then? With the “glass break” sensor?  

Horrific attacks aimed specifically at Martin Luther King and his young family. Attacks meant to hurt, meant to bleed and meant to kill.

Perhaps Psalm 91 rang through their hearts:   

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor the arrows that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Dr. King and Coretta had four children. The oldest being 18 at the time of his assassination and the youngest a mere 5 years old. His children lived through his “passion.” So did his wife.  

For sure you will hear at least one quote today or a part of a speech. We cannot argue, his words reached the lowly, oppressed and down trodden in spirit. Obvious words of unity and peace and love. He spoke words of God sending a ripple effect of change.

A daily life, for sure, riddled with fear of violence marked for himself and aimed at his loved ones. Take the bitterness from your heart today, stemming from recent medias and politics. Pray for the godly man. The fine husband. The good father of four children. A man who whispered then shouted to those who needed help the most. A prayer sent back in time to soothe the worry his wife and children must have been steeped in day after day. Martin Luther King Jr. accepted his calling, followed his “passion” as his family stood watching. We will never know the sacrifices of that which he loved more, of all he was willing to lay down. He moved when the Lord said move, no matter the sacrifice.

A prayer today for his boldness and faith in my own life… is a scary thought. Would I? Could I?  

I shoot my prayers over the ethereal highway back to his wife and children, easing worry, thwarting anxiety. Their strain and struggle is not for naught. For days and years to come, the words and love of the Lord is observed in a day where we learn of your father’s passion.  

“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,  
And will hold Your hand; I will keep
You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.”   

-Anonymous