{"product_id":"thou-dear-god-isbn-9780807086087","title":"\"Thou, Dear God\"","description":"\u003ci\u003e\"Thou, Dear God\"\u003c\/i\u003e is the first and only collection of sixty-eight prayers by Martin Luther King, Jr. Arranged thematically in six parts--with prayers for spiritual guidance, special occasions, times of adversity, times of trial, uncertain times, and social justice--Baptist minister and King scholar Lewis Baldwin introduces the book and each section with short essays. Included are both personal and public prayers King recited as a seminarian, graduate student, preacher, pastor, and, finally, civil rights leader, along with a special section that reveals the biblical sources that most inspired King. Collectively they illustrate how King turned to private prayer for his own spiritual fulfillment and to public prayer as a way to move, inspire, and reaffirm a quest for peace and social justice. With a foreword by Rev. Dr. Julius R. Scruggs, it is the perfect gift for people and leaders of all faiths, and an invaluable resource for spiritual individuals and those who lead worship.“Many of us are eager  to learn all we can about Dr. King. There are many books about his work and his  thought, but ‘Thou, Dear God’ provides a unique and needed window into his  spiritual life.”—Brian D. McLaren, public theologian, blogger, activist and author of numerous  books including \u003ci\u003eA New Kind of  Christian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“If  you want to know the source of his dream and his courage, understand what he  lived for and why he was willing to die for it, eavesdrop on King’s  conversations with God.”—The  Rev. Dr. James Alexander Forbes, Jr. Senior Minister Emeritus of The Riverside Church and President of  the Healing of the Nations Foundation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"My  father believed that prayer was essential to daily living, not just in times of  struggle and fear, but in times of great joy and great love as well. \u003ci\u003e'Thou, Dear God' \u003c\/i\u003ecelebrates his profound love of God and God's presence in our lives, and  brings his inspiring words of grace to all of us. Through my father's own  prayers, we can experience God's love and wisdom in every aspect of our lives,  and just as he did, use our own prayer life to keep changing the  world.\"—Dr. Bernice A. King \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\"The prayers of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. carefully compiled in\u003ci\u003e ‘Thou, Dear God'\u003c\/i\u003e speak to the journey and challenges of a prophetic spirit in the midst of turbulent circumstances. One of the most catalytic voices in history takes us on a personal tour that through the power of prayer reconciled sanctification with service, covenant with community and righteousness with justice. Martin Luther King Jr. had conversations with God. As a result, the world will never be the same again. \"—Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference \u0026amp; Hispanic Evangelical Association\u003cb\u003eDr. Martin Luther King, Jr. \u003c\/b\u003e(1929-1968), Nobel Peace Prize laureate and architect of the nonviolent civil rights movement, was among the twentieth century's most influential figures. One of the greatest orators in U.S. history, King is the author of several books, including Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, The Trumpet of Conscience, Why We Can't Wait, and Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? His speeches, sermons, and writings are inspirational and timeless. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLewis V. Baldwin\u003c\/b\u003e is professor of religious studies at Vanderbilt University and an ordained Baptist minister. An expert on black-church traditions, he is author of The Voice of Conscience: The Church in the Mind of Martin Luther King, Jr.; There Is a Balm in Gilead: The Cultural Roots of Martin Luther King, Jr.; and Never to Leave Us Alone: The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.\u003cb\u003eSelections from the chapter, \"Prayers for Social Justice\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In the Moment of Difficult Decision”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEternal  God out of whose mind this great cosmic universe we bless thee. Help us  to seek that which is high, noble and Good. Help us in the moment of  difficult decision. Help us to work with renewed vigor for a warless  world, a better distribution of wealth, and a brotherhood that  transcends race or color.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e(This prayer was recited at the end  of King’s message “Civilization’s Great Need,” which may have been  delivered during the summer of 1949 while he was serving with his  father, Martin Luther King, Sr., at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church as  an associate minister. He was still a student at Crozer Theological  Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. One also detects King’s early concern  for the elimination of racism, poverty, and war, world problems that  he, years later as a civil rights leader, would call “the giant  triplets.\")\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Free at Last! Free at Last!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGod  grant that right here in America and all over this world, we will  choose the high way; a way in which men will live together as brothers. A  way in which the nations of the world will beat their swords into  plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. A way in which every  man will respect the dignity and worth of all human personality. A way  in which every nation will allow justice to run down like waters, and  righteousness like a mighty stream. A way in which men will do justly,  love mercy, and walk humbly with God. A way in which men will be able to  stand up, and in the midst of oppression, in the midst of darkness and  agony, they will be able to stand there and love their enemies, bless  those persons that curse them, pray for those individuals that  despitefully use them. And this is the way that will bring us once more  into that society which we think of as the brotherhood of man. This will  be that day when white people, colored people, whether they are brown  or whether they are yellow or whether they are black, will join together  and stretch out with their arms and be able to cry out: “Free at last!  Free at last! Great God Almighty, we are free at last!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e(A statement that takes the form of a prayer at the end of King’s speech “Some Things We Must Do,” delivered at the Second Annual Institute on Nonviolence and Social Change at the  Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 5, 1957.  Clearly, the prayer reflects King’s vision of a global beloved  community, thus refuting claims that the civil rights leader’s thought  and activities did not take on international significance until after he  received the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1964. King’s heavy reliance  on Old and New Testament passages and images are most evident here, as  he quotes Isaiah 2:4, Amos 5:24, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:44, and Luke  6:27–28.12)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A New Day of Justice and Brotherhood and Peace”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGod  grant that we will be participants in this newness and this magnificent  development. If we will but do it, we will bring about a new day of  justice and brotherhood and peace. And that day the morning stars will  sing together and the sons of God will shout for joy. God bless you.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e(One  of King’s very last public prayers, recited at the end of his sermon  “Remaining Awake through a Great Revolution.” This sermon was preached  at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 1968, five  days before King was assassinated. King paraphrases Job 38:6–7.)\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Beacon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302342447333,"sku":"NP9780807086087","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780807086087.jpg?v=1767742550","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/thou-dear-god-isbn-9780807086087","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}