Prayer Focus for August 29th - "Dreams Deferred"

[T.W.U.D. Online Prayer Ministry]

Dreamers

Have you ever heard the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” by Ned
Washington? Of course you have! This song is for dreamers. Recall a
portion of the lyrics – “If your heart is in your dreams no request is
too extreme...” Dreamers never think their dreams and desires are
farfetched or unreasonable.

Certainly, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in
extreme dreams. On August 28, 1963 in Washington DC he said, “Even
though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a
dream. ... I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and
live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘we hold these truths to be
self-evident that all men are created equal’”.

What a dream he had. Especially in the midst of the blatant racism he
was encountering. But then, that’s what dreamers do. They believe in
their dreams and negotiate the contradictions. They see beyond their
now and they hope, plan, pray for and prophesy about a better
tomorrow. Dreamers hold to the notion that good can come from evil.

On August 28, 2008, a man of color, Senator Barak Obama, stood before
America and the world to accept the Democratic presidential
nomination.

Obama’s acceptance speech marked the 45th anniversary of King’s Dream,
and is indeed evidence of the good that can come from evil. African
Americans have survived slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, lynching,
bombing, and killings, and now a man of color, a Black man, is a
viable candidate for the presidency of the United States.

Unfortunately, dreamers must go through transition before their dreams
are manifested. Joseph, the great grandson of Abraham and the son of
Jacob, did not realize his dream until he had experienced intense
struggle. His brothers betrayed him, he was placed in a pit and he
spent time in prison before he reached his destiny (see Gen 37 – 50).
Yet he believed “this evil against me will work out for my good (Gen
50:20).

So, dream dreamer! Dream like Joseph and King. They are testaments
that dreams do come true. They may tarry and delay, but as the prophet
Habakkuk said, “write the vision and make it plain , for it is for an
appointed time ... and if it tarries wait for it” (Hab 2: 3-4).
Practice audacity and believ e that all things are possible (Mark
9:23). If we are willing to wait and endure transition, we will see
God bring our dreams to pass.

Rest assured that people will challenge us for being dreamers. When
they do we must say like John Lennon, “...I’m a dreamer, but I’m not
the only one. I hope some day you’ll join us...” Stretch past your now
and articulate with Godly boldness, ‘I have a dream that someday....’

You know what you want your someday to be. Go ahead – dream it!

Prayer

(Reflections of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech)

Lord, we are experiencing one of the greatest legacies of freedom in
the history of our nation. As we come to this hallowed place we ask
that you remind us of the fierce urgency of Now. Now is the time to
lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid
rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all
of God’s children.

Lord, we know that it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the
urgency of the moment, for Nineteen sixty-three was not an end, but a
beginning...

Lord, we are mindful that some of us have come out of great trail and
tribulation.. . fresh from narrow jail cells... battered by the storms
of persecution and staggered by the winds of brutality. But, let us
not wallow in the valley of despair. Rather, let us continue to work
with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive knowing that
somehow our situations can and will be changed; and in the process of
gaining our rightful place let us not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let
us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup
of bitterness and hatred. Let us forever conduct our struggle on the
high plane of dignity and discipline.

Whether Black or White, Jew or Gentile, Protestant or Catholic help us
to realize that we need each other. We cannot walk alone. And as we
walk we pledge to always march ahead. We will not turn back.

Lord, we know that the bank of justice is not bankrupt. We believe
that there are sufficient fund s in the great vaults of opportunity of
this nation. And so, we've come to cash the check written to our
forefathers, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of
freedom and the security of justice.

It is our hope and our faith that justice will one day roll down like
waters and righteousness like a mighty stream, that every valley shall
be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough
places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made
straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh
shall see it together.

With this faith, we hope to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone
of hope. With this faith, we hope to transform the jangling discords
of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this
faith, we can work together, pray together, struggle together, go to
jail toget her, and stand up for freedom together, knowing that we
will be free one day. And for this cause Lord, we ask that you would
let freedom ring. From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

If America is to be a great nation, we must let freedom ring from
every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city. Then
we will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro
spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty we are free
at last!

In Jesus’ name, Amen.