Lord, Teach Me to Pray (Resources on Prayer)
What God is teaching me about prayer and a whole list of recommendations
I am sitting at my desk in my room, school books around me but my Bible open in front of me. I am reading and crying through Psalm 25. I do not remember what had triggered that episode of depression, but I think I was about 16 years old, and, finding myself at the end of my rope, I did what I thought would help: praying to the Lord.
When I was in middle school, I attended a summer camp in the mountains of North Carolina where the girls had to wear clothes over our bathing suits and our shorts had to go to our knees and my counselor was the daughter of Patch the Pirate. Her name was Tara. One day we were out doing the afternoon rec activities and one of the girls from my cabin lost one of her contacts when we had been near a creek. When we didn’t find it right away, Tara insisted we all join hands and pray that God would help us find that contact lens. A few minutes later, we found it, on a rock in the middle of the creek. I was so impacted by that experience, not only because we had actually found it after praying about it, but that Tara had thought we should pray about it in the first place. Did God care about a lost contact lens? And even if he did, did he work in the world in such a way that he would allow us to find it?
I feel like my prayer life over the years has vacillated around those two points: Should I take everything to God in prayer? And if I do, do I do it because I believe he will actually do something about it or because it is an example of me trusting him with everything?
I know all the right answers, of course. But knowledge doesn’t always fix our problems.
We have been part of more than one church that greatly valued prayer, but I would say that the person who has had the biggest influence on my prayer life is my husband, Christian. I don’t really remember how long he has had a consistent prayer life, but for at least a decade I have witnessed him take note of things to prayer for, whether from people in our church, neighbors, or other friends, and then consistently pray about those things. He doesn’t pray about all of them every day (more on that later), but whenever he does pray for a certain person, if he has their contact information, he texts them to let them know what he prayed for and to ask how they are doing since the last time he texted them. Most days, as I am moving about the house or sitting at my desk working from home, I see him having a consistent prayer time. Even more than that, I have seen God answer his prayers, and I have seen him rejoice in answers to prayers.
Last month I read a very short book on prayer by J.C. Ryle that stopped me in my tracks. He says, “…some of us never speak to God. We behave like animals—animals that just live and die. We live like creatures without souls. We do not have a word for the God whose hand holds our life, breath, and everything else. Not a word for the one who will pronounce our everlasting sentence one day.” Throughout the book he gives advice for people in a variety of situations, from those who don’t have the desire to pray to those who do but who don’t know where to start.
Ultimately, he says, “our prayers are a measure of our spiritual health, like a spiritual health check. A person’s prayer life opens a window into our hearts and shows whether our soul is healthy or dangerously ill.”
I will confess that when I did a check on my own soul, I found that if prayer was a measure of spiritual health, I was not doing well. And so I determined that even if it was painful and at times seemed fruitless, I wanted to read more on prayer and be encouraged in my own prayer life.
At about this time, I realized that I needed to settle on a theme for the upcoming women’s retreat at our church. Last year our theme was about seeking the Lord when life is hard and we mainly focused on the spiritual discipline of finding ways to “put yourself in the path of the word of God.” It seemed only natural that, combined with my own newly stoked interest in the subject, that we make the theme for this year prayer.
Now, I felt anxious announcing this theme to the women who are attending, because let’s be honest: it sounds boring. I told them that I knew it sounded boring. And yet I am hoping that my own personal study into God’s Word as well as good books on prayer will bear fruit in my own life as well as in the lives of my sisters who are coming on this retreat.
If you know me, you know that if I set my mind to do something, I do not do it halfway. I asked Christian to bring home any of his books that were about prayer or mentioned prayer, and I raided our bookshelf at home. I also bought a few books on Amazon with my Christmas money. I now have a stack of about 15 books that I’ve told myself I’ll read by the end of February. I’m not sure I’ll make it through all of them, but I know whatever I am able to read will still be helpful.
I wanted to compile the list of books that I’m including in my own study of prayer in hope that it might be helpful to someone else.
I’ll close with a quote from the first book on the list, The Autobiography of George Mueller. Mueller lived in the mid-1800s and cared for thousands of orphans, relying only on prayer for his practical needs. This quote comes after he describes a day when there was no money for milk, and he prayed that the Lord would have mercy on them. While he was walking and praying, someone he knew stopped him on the street and gave him one pound (the equivalent of about $170 in 2025).
Truly, it is worth being poor and greatly tried in faith for the sake of having such precious, daily proof of the loving interest in which our kind Father takes in everything that concerns us. How could our Father do otherwise? He gave us the greatest possible proof of his love when he gave us his own son. Surely he will also freely give us all things.
May we all find greater joy and discipline in prayer.
Books on Prayer
The Autobiography of George Mueller by George Mueller
I just finished this book a few days ago and while I had read it many years ago, it had a profound impact on me this time around. I was surprised at how honest Mueller was about his lack of faith at times, as well as how he makes it very clear that God does not call every Christian to the same life as him—and yet God does call every Christian to go to him in prayer for their needs. This book is now in the public domain and you can read the entire book for free online if you don’t want to pay for a copy.
Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church by John Onwuchekwa
All of these books in the 9Marks series are excellent. I haven’t read this one yet, but it’s in my stack.
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Tim Keller
At the time of this writing, I’m in the middle of this one. Not surprisingly, it’s pretty good.
Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer by Eugene Peterson
Keller quotes this one often in his book. I bought it but haven’t read it yet.
Do You Pray? A Question for Everybody by J.C. Ryle
With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray
The Hidden Life of Prayer: The Life Blood of the Christian by David MacIntyre
All three of these were written by men who lived many decades and/or centuries ago. The wisdom they contain, though, is still relevant today.
Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney
I’ve read this book multiple times and am planning to use it as the framework for our upcoming women’s retreat.
A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller
I have read this book at least five times, and it continues to reset my thinking about prayer every time I read it. He shares the prayer cards method he’s used for decades and while I haven’t used it consistently, I have found it to be a really helpful tool.
A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World by Paul Miller
If you’re looking to encourage a greater focus on prayer in your church, this would be a great option for a small group or to read with leaders in your church.
Pray With Your Eyes Open: Looking at God, Ourselves, and Our Prayers by Richard Pratt, Jr.
This is one I haven’t read, but my husband had it on his bookshelf, so it’s on my TBR.
If God Already Knows, Why Pray? by Douglas Kelly
I read this one more than a decade ago and am excited to read it again. My husband had the author as a seminary professor and we both have so much respect for him.
Praying Together: The Priority and Privilege of Prayer in Our Homes, Communities, and Churches by Megan Hill
This book would be a great resource if you’re looking for ideas to pray more with other people.
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney
I read this book for the first time this past year and was dumbstruck by how practically helpful it was. I would commend this to any Christian at any stage of life. It is not primarily about prayer, but the chapters that are related to prayer are excellent.
Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines by David Mathis
This is what I would consider a slightly more accessible book about spiritual disciplines. This one would be a great option for a small group.
Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed by Donald Whitney
This book is short, and it contains dozens of ideas for ways to improve your spiritual life. Each idea takes up only a page or two. There are many ideas that pertain to prayer. I consider this to be a great gift for a new mom or dad!
A Heart Set Free: A Journey to Hope Through the Psalms of Lament by Christina Fox
While not specifically about prayer, the Psalms are one of the best ways to guide our prayers, so this is still a book that would be really helpful, especially if you are going through a difficult time.
Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes
This is another book that is not specifically about prayer but that includes a lot of content on prayer.
The One Year Praying Through the Bible For Your Children by Nancy Guthrie
If you are looking to combine Scripture reading with prayer, this is my best recommendation. It’s perfect for a parent or grandparent, no matter how old the “kids” are.
Other Resources
Prayermate | An app that my husband has been using for years; it is essentially Paul Miller’s prayer cards method from Paul Miller’s “A Praying Life” in digital form
I hope to keep adding to this post with more resources as I find them. If you have any resources on prayer that you’d recommend, I’d love to check them out!