Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is easily the most respected civil rights leader in American history. He was bold and humble at the same time. He was both blunt and eloquent. He was a common man and a leader who rose above it all simultaneously.

Fortunately many of his prayers were recorded for us to review. One of his most powerful prayers to me, is a very short and simple prayer that calls us to “make a creative contribution to this world.

“O God, we thank you for the lives of great saints and prophets in the past, who have revealed to us that we can stand up amid the problems and difficulties and trials of life and not give in. We thank you for our foreparents, who’ve given us something in the midst of the darkness of exploitation and oppression to keep going. Grant that we will go on with the proper faith and the proper determination of will, so that we will be able to make a creative contribution to this world. In the name and spirit of Jesus we pray”

Dr. King acknowledges the great saints in the past. For us, he now joins those saints as a great inspiration. In the prayer, he touches on perseverance and perspective. He asks God for the faith and determination to make a creative contribution in the world.

Each of us is gifted in a different way. With God’s strength and direction we can use our uniqueness to bless others and make a difference in our world.

Most of us won’t do the monumental things that Dr. King did. But there may be a person close to you, who needs you to make a creative contribution in their life.

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Written by Tom Wise © Finding Wonder 2016