This list is by no means comprehensive. It’s not necessarily even the best list. But it’s a list of books on prayer and books of prayers… all for the purpose of serving as books for prayer… that have helped me a great deal.

Books of Prayers

This first list is primarily books of prayers. I once heard Peter Kreeft say the prayers of those who have gone before us can be very useful to our own prayer lives. I know I have found that to be particularly true in my own prayer life. I have a number of books, filled with prayers, that I read regularly. Like anything else, it would be easy to read these prayers only in a rote fashion and gain nothing from them. However, I usually pray before I read these prayers asking the Lord to make them my very own. Furthermore, I often use these written prayers of others as “jumping off” places for my own prayers. Consequently, very often I will wander from the prayer I’m reading as I feel the Spirit move me to pray my own thoughts and words.

I heartily encourage getting a few books of prayers. In addition to what I’ve already said, they can be very devotional in their own right. Moreover, they can also serve in teaching us how to pray more comprehensively and richly than we usually do when left to ourselves. I don’t know about you, but if I’m not really “tuning in” to God during my times of prayer, my prayers can become (and often do become) very self-centered and one dimensional. These books of prayers by blessed saints who have gone before us do much to keep me focused and moving in the right direction.

So here’s the first list. Some of these books are out of print, but I think many, if not most, can be found at Christianbook.com or Amazon.

1.) A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie (I have used this one the longest and most consistently. Love it.)
2.) Handbook to Prayer by Ken Boa (I use this one often and have purchased a number of copies for others. It’s not really a book of prayers as much as organized prayer prompts based on Scripture. Very good.)
3.) The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett (Next to Baillie’s above, I have used this one for many years.)
4.) Lutheran Book of Prayer, 1951 edition
5.) The Methodist Book of Worship for Church and Home, 1965
6.) The United Methodist Book of Worship
7.) The Pastor’s Prayerbook, 1960; edited by Robert N. Rodenmayer
8.) A Barclay Prayer Book by William Barclay
9.) The Prayers of Peter Marshall, 1954

Again, this isn’t a comprehensive list I use, but it is a list of ones I use most often.

***Also, I hope it’s not inappropriate to mention my own book of prayers called, Prayer Journal. You can learn more and buy it by clicking here.

Books About Prayer

This next list contains books about prayer. They range from books focusing on a “theology of prayer” to more practical “how to” books. Both have been helpful to me. Let me say once more that this isn’t the definitive list of books on prayer. The number of books about prayer seems to be endless. These are just a few I refer to often.

1.) The Art of Prayer by Timothy Jones
2.) The Power of Personal Prayer by Jonathan Graf
3.) The Hour That Changes the World by Dick Eastman (a very “how to” book)
4.) The Struggle of Prayer by Donald Bloesch
5.) A Praying Life by Paul Miller
6.) Hearing God by Dallas Willard
7.) The Cry for the Kingdom by Stanley Grenz
8.) Taking Hold of God, edited by Joel Beeke and Brian Najapfour
9.) Prayer with Your Eyes Open by Richard Pratt
10.) The God Who Hears by W. Bingham Hunter
11.) Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight by J.I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom
12.) Prayer: The Great Conversation by Peter Kreeft
13.) Did You Think to Pray? by R.T. Kendall
14.) The Papa Prayer by Larry Crabb
15.) Prayer & Devotional Life of United Methodists by Steve Harper
16.) And the Place was Shaken by John Franklin
17. Talking with God by Mack Stokes

Books That Inspire Prayer

This last list contains books on prayer that will unnerve you and make you hit your head with the palm of your hand, as you ask yourself why you don’t pray more often, longer, and more intensely. These are books that are devotional in nature and draw you closer to your heavenly Father as they simultaneously convict you of laziness and apathy (and maybe even unbelief) on your part. I read these with fear and trembling… but I read them because they do me good.

1.) The E.M. Bounds Collection (you can’t beat this price)
     * The Necessity of Prayer
     * The Essentials of Prayer
     * The Possibilities of Prayer
     * The Reality of Payer
     * The Purpose of Prayer
     * The Weapon of Prayer
     * Power Through Prayer
     * Prayer and Praying Men

2.) The Andrew Murray Collection
     * Abide in Christ
     * The Prayer Life
     * Waiting on God
     * With Christ in the School of Prayer
     * The Ministry of Intercession
     * The Secret of Intercession

3.) The Power of Prayer by R.A. Torrey
4.) How to Pray by R.A. Torrey
5.) Revival Praying by Leonard Ravenhill

I hope this list is helpful. I hasten to add at the end of this post an old adage about prayer: “If you want to learn how to pray… then pray.” I think that’s sound counsel. Yet, there’s nothing wrong and everything right with wanting to grow in prayer and going deeper in prayer through learning more about it.

PS – Of course, the best book on prayer is Scripture and hopefully that’s already part of your devotional diet.

Blessings,
Dale