Books on Prayer

Here are some of my favorite books on prayer, some read recently, some read many years ago, some returned to quite often. I hope you’re able to find something to read to encourage growth in your prayer life!

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“The child learns the speech of the father. So we learn to speak to God because God has spoken to us and speaks to us. By means of the speech of the Father in heaven, his children learn to speak with him. 

Repeating God’s own words after him, we begin to pray to him. We ought to speak to God and he wants to hear us, not in the false and confused speech of our heart, but in the clear and pure speech which God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ.”

Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: https://amzn.to/3TTUHB8

This book is short and powerful, and one of my new favorites. I read through it the first time in a single afternoon, and have revisited it several times since. Every single sentence in this short book is impactful. Not a wasted word. I love that.

It walks through the different types of Psalms and breaks down the importance of praying through all of the themes that we see within them.

I love seeing how the Psalms teach us to pray, and give us the “clear and pure speech with God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ.” I know the struggle of just approaching God with requests, and feeling bored and ineffective in your prayer life.

I’ve found the solution to be the Word of God. Speaking His Words back to Him aligns my heart with who He is, what He’s done, and what I can expect from Him in the future. It moves me to worship. 

Prayer without the Word of God is so one-sided. It’s speaking but not listening.

”O God, we praise Thee for keeping us till this day, and for the full assurance that Thou wilt never let us go.”

CH Spurgeon’s Prayers: https://amzn.to/3TJuKEt

This is a book that I’m currently working through, and thoroughly enjoying. It is a collection of Spurgeon’s prayers from the pulpit, and one of his sermon’s on prayer at the end. I love reading the prayers and seeing scripture imbedded all the way through them.

Add this one to your collection if you enjoy beautiful language and scripture-saturated prayers!

“The heavens and earth are thine,
The world is thine and its fullness.
Thy power created the universe from nothing;
Thy wisdom has managed all its multiple concerns,
Presiding over nations, families, individuals.
Thy goodness is boundless;
All creatures wait on thee
Are supplied by thee,
Are satisfied by thee.
How precious are the thoughts of thy mercy and grace!
How excellent thy lovingkindness that draws men to thee!”

Excerpt from God All-Sufficient
The Valley of Vision: https://amzn.to/3OkMMM6

This is my favorite prayer book, and I keep it close to me. The puritan prayers are raw and real and full of truth. They tap in to the sin and struggle of our lives, and fill our prayers with adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.

I had an aversion to scripted prayers before I got my hands on this little book. I love having deep and genuine words to lead me when I can’t put the words and thoughts together in my head. That place where I need fellowship with the Lord, but my mind is too foggy to get there.

I grab this and start reading these prayers and remember who He is, all He’s done, and how He’s trustworthy. You won’t regret this addition to your library. Keep it close to you and read often!

The Power of Praying Through Fear: https://amzn.to/3OlQlS9

The Power of a Praying Wife: https://amzn.to/3UPX0qe

The Power of a Praying Parent: https://amzn.to/3V2moJe

Here are more scripted prayer options. Chapters to help you think deeply about what and why you are praying, and scripted prayers at the end to give you the words. This is so useful when we feel like we have so many things to pray – especially for our husbands and children. Those books each have 30 – 31 chapters. You can use them as a daily prayer resource for praying for your family all year long!

Others in The Power of Praying Series:

The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children: https://amzn.to/3ggHFjv

The Power of a Praying Husband: https://amzn.to/3ghfrVE

The Power of a Praying Woman: https://amzn.to/3gp58yR

The Power of a Praying Grandparent: https://amzn.to/3OqwG3G

”Prayer is the source of power for growth and perseverance in our spiritual lives. Just as newly planted seeds need exposure to the sun in order to grow to maturity, we need exposure to the Son of Righteousness, or our growth may be stunted; we are left with pygmy souls.”

Disciplines of a Godly Woman: https://amzn.to/3VFs1NG

This one has a fun new cover design, I have the old cover pictured. I read this book in college as a new believer and have read it so many times and with so many women since then. It has a whole chapter devoted to prayer which is why it’s here on this list. Wonderful resource and one you’ll return to many times.

”When I think of what Christ has saved me from, when I recall the shame He endured so willingly for my sake, when I remember all that salvation means, prayer is not hard. When this kind of thinking is infrequent, meaningful prayer will also be infrequent.”

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life: https://amzn.to/3iu6Bo8

Here’s another all around great book that I’ve walked through many times, and is on this list for it’s specific prayer chapter. Whitney has phenomenal insight into cultivating the spiritual disciplines. This quote above has helped shape my prayer life. When I find myself silent and not diligent in prayer, I take it as a red flag and start to evaluate the thoughts going through my mind. When I shift my thinking to focus on the truth of the gospel, thanksgiving and praise begin to flow from my mouth.

“His strength is small because his prayers are few and lean. But the man whose prayers are many and strong will not collapse when the trouble comes.”

Prayer: Communing with God in Everything- Collected Insights from A.W. Tozer https://amzn.to/3tIDhgg

In the desire to be strong, I am hyper aware of my weaknesses. I want to be strong in the Lord, to be deeply rooted, so that I can withstand and persevere in all that he’s called me to do. When I feel myself wanting to collapse with the storm of the season, I can usually point a finger at my prayer life.

We know that His strength is made perfect in our weakness, and that He will provide all that we need all the time. But, we don’t go to Him for our strength and help and peace and hope. We are frantically running around- trying and doing and fretting and fearing.

Let your weakness be an indicator that you need fellowship with Him. When you feel like you are collapsing under the weight of life, your prayer life probably needs a change.

In this book, you’ll find 28 short chapters on A. W. Tozer’s thoughts on prayer. Most of them are taken from his books, and others are excerpts from his sermons. Each chapter concludes with an “Exploring with Tozer” section and some reflection questions to help you dig a bit deeper.

I really enjoyed this book for it’s short, powerful chapters. Throw this in your bag to read in those short gaps of the day, or use it at the end of your quiet time. 28 days of devotionals to help you pray more effectively. You’ll love this one!

”If I do my duty, then God ‘owes me.’ Worship becomes a kind of transaction: I’ve given God something, so it’s God’s turn to reciprocate. Prayer as transaction rather than relationship can decline into a practice more duty than joy, an occasional and awkward exercise with little connection to life – not so different from the Buddhist monk spinning his prayer wheel or the Japanese businesswoman performing her temple ritual. A man may ‘say his prayers’ at night or before meals, repeating words he learned in childhood. His wife prays more conversationally, in bits and snatches during the day, but she too views God as distant and unapproachable, off in heaven somewhere. Neither has much sense of a loving God who wants an intimate involvement in their lives.”

Prayer: Does it Make any Difference: https://amzn.to/3isvVuL

I have an old cover on this one, too. I haven’t finished this one, but grab it for a chapter here and there. It’s full of thoughts that convict me and challenge my thoughts, actions, and attitudes towards prayer. This one is different from most of the others on this list. I’ve enjoyed it so far.

”As fellow heirs with him, all who are in Christ have been given an invaluable birthright. We have an eternal inheritance that is being kept in heaven for us. What we long for, as parents, is for our children to have eyes of faith to see the incredible worth of this inheritance and to refuse to trade it away to satisfy a momentary craving.”

Praying through the Bible for your Kids: https://amzn.to/3XIEIsP

This is a really great resource. It has scripture references for each day of the year, to help you read through the entire Bible. Each day has a devotional that goes along with the reading, and a scripted prayer to pray for your children. I’ve loved walking through this one this year.

I hope you enjoy this booklist and find something new to help you grow in your prayer life! I’d love to hear about it.

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