You may recognize the name Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) and know something about his decade-long advocacy work to reform apartheid in South Africa, for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize. What you may not know is his unwavering commitment to daily prayer.
He began each day the same way with intentional time set aside for Scripture meditation, prayer and observing the Eucharist. No matter what the demands were on his time, he always made it a priority to center each day in Scripture reading and prayer. Prayer was something he practiced, whether or not he felt like doing it. He needed, in his own words, “to take in from God before giving out to people.”
A close friend recalled frequent cab rides with Bishop Tutu. Every taxi ride began the same way, “Please, before you start driving, let us pray for safety and the care of others on the road.” Prayer kept him sane in times of adversity. He was denounced by white South Africans for being too radical and scorned by black militants for being too moderate. One of Tutu’s prayers, that has been set to music, serves as our featured prayer: