WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s inaugural benediction on the federal holiday that celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. included an homage to the civil rights leader’s legacy. The prayer by a Michigan pastor heavily cited King’s seminal “I Have a Dream” speech alongside the Declaration of Independence, patriotic songs and gospel hymns.

In his spirited invocation on Monday, Rev. Lorenzo Sewell thanked God for the incoming Trump administration and prayed “that America would begin to dream again.”

The comments were at times a near complete rendition of King’s 1963 address. He asked God to “let freedom ring” nationwide and ensure that Americans are “free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

Sewell was a mainstay of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. He hosted Trump at his church in June, spoke at the Republican National Convention in July, and attended numerous campaign roundtables of faith leaders and pro-Trump conservative Christian rallies.

Sewell said during a Sunday night inaugural gala that Trump had personally asked him to pray during the inauguration.

“Heavenly father, we are so grateful that you gave our 45th and now our 47th president a millimeter miracle,” Sewell said Monday, referencing the July attempt on Trump’s life.

Sewell, 43, has been the pastor at the nondenominational 180 Church on the west side of Detroit for seven years, and has said he came to Christianity in 1999 after a revelation from God.

Sewell adheres to a charismatic, conservative Christian doctrine and does not shy away from politics.

“The gospel message is a political message. The Bible is a political book, from Genesis to Revelations. We see that the Bible is a political book,” Sewell told Fox News this month. “It is impossible to be politically neutral.”

At the Black Conservative Federation’s Legacy of Freedom Ball on Sunday, Sewell invoked Bible verses and gospel hymns as he prayed for Trump’s protection.

Shortly after delivering his energetic benediction, Sewell posted on social media that he had launched a cryptocurrency, and he encouraged followers to buy it to support his charitable activities. Other major right-wing figures, including Trump, have recently launched cryptocurrencies.

Sewell’s prayer got widespread praise from GOP lawmakers, conservative activists and the president’s rank-and-file supporters online and in the Capitol One Arena where a rally for the president took place.

But some Black faith leaders and civil rights figures expressed unease at Sewell’s prayer and Trump’s references to King.

“Don’t let them hijack what Dr. King was about,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton. “Dr. King was a fighter. Dr. King used economic leverage. Dr. King was a man who stood up for economic justice,” Sharpton said. “And you can’t celebrate Dr. King without celebrating what he stood for.”