Never to Leave Us Alone: The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King Jr. [Paperback]

Lewis Baldwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2010

Based on years of original research, Never to Leave Us Alone is the first book-length treatment of the prayer life of the famed religious and civil rights leader. Drawing on personal prayers that King recited as a seminarian and graduate student, preacher, pastor, and then civil rights leader, award-winning historian Lewis Baldwin explains how King turned to both private prayer and meditation for his own spiritual fulfillment, and to public prayer as part of his sermonic discourse, as an aspect of his pastoral care, and as a way of moving, inspiring, and reaffirming people in the context of a crusade for equal rights, social justice, and peace.



In the end, Baldwin argues, King's prayer life and reflections offer important keys not only to King the man but also to our own cultivation of core human values. The book includes photographs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Baldwin's work will remain the most definitive about the man and his mission. In this work, Baldwin discovers the mystique of Martin Luther King Jr., and he carefully examines the key to King's strength of spirit against seemingly impossible odds. " --Wayatt Tee Walker, close aide to Martin Luther King Jr.

"This intense probing of the prayer life of Martin Luther King Jr. by Lewis Baldwin brings depth and clarity to the concept of 'praying without ceasing'. In the tradition of an African griot, Baldwin unfolds the story of Dr. King, spirit-filled servant of God, who utilized the power of persistent prayer, plus a constant study of human inequities in an alien land and the search for truth, as all encompassing in the process of 'witnessing for the Lord!' This is not simply another collection of facts about the celebrated 'peaceful warrior.' It is a newly opened window into the heart and soul of a servant-preacher who continues to teach through his understanding and experience of the power of prayer. It should be required of all theological seminarians!" --Melva Costen, Helmer Nielsen Professor Emerita of Worship and Music, Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia

"Lewis Baldwin, the foremost chronicler of Martin Luther King Jr., traces his prayer life and its huge, enabling force in the fight for human rights. A wonderful book! Read it, and you will be inspired." --David Buttrick, Buffington Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics Emeritus, Vanderbilt University Divinity School

"This intense probing of the prayer life of Martin Luther King Jr. by Lewis Baldwin brings depth and clarity to the concept of 'praying without ceasing'. In the tradition of an African griot, Baldwin unfolds the story of Dr. King, spirit-filled servant of God, who utilized the power of persistent prayer, plus a constant study of human inequities in an alien land and the search for truth, as all encompassing in the process of 'witnessing for the Lord!' This is not simply another collection of facts about the celebrated 'peaceful warrior.' It is a newly opened window into the heart and soul of a servant-preacher who continues to teach through his understanding and experience of the power of prayer. It should be required of all theological seminarians!" --Melva Costen, Helmer Nielsen Professor Emerita of Worship and Music, Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia

"Lewis Baldwin, the foremost chronicler of Martin Luther King Jr., traces his prayer life and its huge, enabling force in the fight for human rights. A wonderful book! Read it, and you will be inspired." --David Buttrick, Buffington Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics Emeritus, Vanderbilt University Divinity School

About the Author

Lewis V. Baldwin is Professor of Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University. An expert on black-church traditions, he is author of There Is a Balm in Gilead: The Cultural Roots of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1991); To Make the Wounded Whole: The Cultural Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1992), both from Fortress Press; and Toward the Beloved Community: Martin Luther King, Jr. and South Africa (1995).

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Fortress Press (September 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800697448
• ISBN-13: 978-0800697440
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #841,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lewis V. Baldwin, the editor of "In a Single Garment of Destiny" by Martin Luther King Jr.(Beacon Press, 2012), 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.

Photographer Copyright Credit Name: Daniel Dubois, 2011.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book October 10, 2011

By Samuel Lamerson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a wonderful book showing the place of prayer in Dr. King's life. It is hampered by two issues:
First, because of the tight hold that the King family has upon the words of Dr. King, no actual prayers have been included. While this is no fault of the author (who has a fully written book consisting mainly of the prayers of King) he has been prevented from publishing them, reading the prayers would have greatly added to the book.
A second, and, some will argue, less substantive problem is that the work presents MLK as a full blown liberal in terms of biblical scholarship. While it is true that Dr. King would at times raise questions about such items as the virgin birth, the nature of the resurrection body, etc., there are at least some of those who traveled with him or knew him well who believe that Dr. King was simply asking questions to sharpen the faith and apologetic skill of his friends. That is, simply because Dr. King raised questions about the virgin birth did not mean that he rejected the doctrine.
Aside from the criticisms above, this is a wonderful work. It is well worth reading both historically and devotionally.

5.0 out of 5 stars We always think of MLK, Jr as an activist but, he was first a minister and you really can't separate the two. March 6, 2013

By Ida Wright

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

It makes one know that it is because of his religious foundation that MLK,Jr. was able to accomplish so much in his short time on earth.

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous contribution to Understanding MLK December 23, 2012

By Maria Gitin

Format:Paperback

Lewis V Baldwin brings his research to life so that one feels close to King and his spirit, rather than mired in footnotes. That is an art that few scholars practice. As a civil rights veteran, I look back at the criticisms we aimed at "de Lawd" (as some of my SNCC buddies called him) and realize that they were misplaced. MLKs religiosity made some uncomfortable and so we mocked it, but Baldwin's sincere and scholarly work documents that King's faith did indeed come first and foremost. He allowed his flaws to be become known publicly more than a less faithful and honest man might have. King wrestled with his humanity in a way that bothered people. I especially like Baldwin's description of King using his self-confessions to warm up the audience, to bring them together, to move upward and onward. Wonderful descriptions!

Baldwin manages to recap key moments in the Movement - Albany, Montgomery, Washington, and Selma - without rehashing the well-known events in those cities but rather letting us feel and hear King's prayers for what we know he faced. What is even more remarkable is that this book had to be written skillfully without permission to use many of King's quotes. But rather than the reader feeling cheated or shorted in some way, this book stands perfectly well on its own while creating an irrefutable argument for the soon to be published "Never Alone."

Public professions of faith were something that many of us white kids in the Movement had to adapt to, the breaking out into song and prayer at the drop of a hat. Reading Baldwin helped me reflect that the power of faith in the Movement wasn't in leaders, but it a spirit larger than any of us. While some of us called it philosophy, King called it God. And the power of his connection to his God is clear and compelling in this beautifully researched and written book.