Dr. King had only been at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama seven months, but in the quiet of the night, he sat at his kitchen ready to leave the city. He had been stopped and jailed by the police that afternoon for driving 30-mph on a 25-mph roadway. The incarceration was an act of intimidation, because he was encouraging the Black community to demand its rights. His predecessor, Rev. Vernon Johns, had been persistent in sermons and actions in keeping the issues of racism before the congregation. Dexter Avenue Baptist Church was King’s first full-time pastoral appointment (he was also completing his doctoral studies). King was influenced by Dr. Vernon Johns and insisted that every member of the church become a registered voter and a member of the NAACP. Meetings held in the basement of the church resulted in a decision to boycott public transportation that confined Black people to the back of its vehicles. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was launched, and three days later the Montgomery Improvement Association was established. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was its president. The structure of racism in Montgomery, Alabama was threatened, and King became the target of intimidation, because he was motivating Black people to abandon their passivity to injustice.
The Civil Rights movement of the 20th century began (there have always been civil rights movements for equal opportunity for Black people). In less than a year, the young pastor was both hero and villain. Pastoral, family, community (boycott included), and academic responsibilities in addition to threats on his life overwhelmed him on the evening of the day of his arrest. He returned home late that night exhausted. As he sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of him, the phone rang. King put the receiver to his ear only to hear another threat. It was too much. Burned out in body, mind, and spirit, he felt that his efforts were futile. He was defeated. After minutes of numbness, he slowly recalled that whenever his father encountered that which appeared hopeless, he prayed. The first-year pastor then prayed with no agenda or special requests. He laid out his anxieties, his loss of courage and his desire to run away from Montgomery, Alabama. There in that kitchen sanctuary, after a confession of weakness and faithlessness, King said he had an experience of God that he had never had before. The Lord instructed him to fight on; he was given the sacred promise that God would never leave him. Dr. King said his uncertainty disappeared; he was ready to face anything.
“Prayer is man giving God permission or license to interfere in earth’s affairs. In other words, prayer is earthly license for heavenly interference.” ~ Myles Munroe
https://www.allchristianquotes.org/quotes/Dr_Myles_Munroe/10074/
Dorothy Watson Tatem, D.Min., ACC
Senior Associate
Next Step Associates, LLC
Cassandra W. Jones, Ed.D.
CEO & President
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