suggested reading: contemplative / prayer

 

 

Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton

 

Barton, a spiritual director and retreat leader, covers the basics elegantly - the role of desire and longing in relationship with God, praying with scripture, and the need for solitude, self-examination, discernment and Sabbath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala

Recommended by Emily Swan

 

The story of what happened to this broken-down church in one of America's meanest neighborhoods points the way to new spiritual vitality in the church and in your own life. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire shows what the Holy Spirit can do when believers get serious about prayer and the Gospel.

 

 

 

 

Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets

Recommended by Emily Swan

 

With the rare grace of Lucado and Foster, Dutch unwraps the mystery of intercessory prayer, revealing our role as God's partners in His work. Have you ever wondered if your prayers really count? Or why you never seem to get any answers? If so, then Intercessory Prayer will convince you that your prayers can, indeed, move heaven and earth.

 

 

 

The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime compiled by Phyllis Tickle

Recommended by Ken Wilson

 

The Divine Hours is the first major literary and liturgical reworking of the sixth-century Benedictine Rule of fixed-hour prayer. This beautifully conceived and thoroughly modern three-volume guide will appeal to the theological novice as well as to the ecclesiastical sophisticate.

 

 

 

The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime compiled by Phyllis Tickle

Recommended by Ken Wilson

 

The Divine Hours is the first major literary and liturgical reworking of the sixth-century Benedictine Rule of fixed-hour prayer. This beautifully conceived and thoroughly modern three-volume guide will appeal to the theological novice as well as to the ecclesiastical sophisticate.

 

 

 

The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime compiled by Phyllis Tickle

Recommended by Ken Wilson

 

The Divine Hours is the first major literary and liturgical reworking of the sixth-century Benedictine Rule of fixed-hour prayer. This beautifully conceived and thoroughly modern three-volume guide will appeal to the theological novice as well as to the ecclesiastical sophisticate.

 

 

 

Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard J. Foster

 

Hailed by many as the most important contemporary book on Christian prayer, this life-changing guidebook shows how prayer can move us inward to personal transoformation, upward toward intimacy with God, and outward to minister others.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting by Mahesh Chavda

Recommended by Emily Swan

 

The praying believer is the confident believer. But the fasting believer is the overcoming believer. This book is designed to inspire readers to tap into God's power and change their lives, their cities, and their nation!

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer Is a Place by Phyllis Tickle

 

A leading authority on religion and spirituality in America recounts the changes she witnessed from 1992--2004, a period she compares to the tumultuous years of the Reformation and Peri-Reformation in Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Prayer and Contemplation, ed. by Matthew Levering

 

This is a rich, informative, and inspiring compendium of the Christian tradition of prayer and contemplation from the earliest days of the Church to the present day. Included are selections from St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Julian of Norwich, St. Francis de Sales, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Edith Stein, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Pope John Paul II, and more.

 

 

Prayer: A History by Philip & Carol Zaleski

Recommended by Emily Swan

 

This landmark work presents prayer in all its richness and variety throughout history, across traditions, and around the globe. In a thorough and fascinating look at this spiritual practice, two of today's most versatile and admired authorities on religion probe the language and fruits of prayer, its controversies, and its prospects for the future.