Best Christian Books on Prayer: 15 Classics to Read Free
If you read one book on prayer, make it Andrew Murray's With Christ in the School of Prayer. It takes thirty-one sayings of Jesus about prayer, one a day for a month, and lets Him be the teacher. If you want something shorter and sharper, read E. M. Bounds' Power Through Prayer, about two hours. If you want to see prayer answered, read George Müller's How God Answers Prayer.
The old writers did not treat prayer as a technique. To them it was the plainest thing in the Christian life and the hardest: talking with God as a child talks with a father. They agreed on a few things again and again. Jesus is the teacher of prayer, and His promises mean what they say. Prayer must be definite, believing and persistent. It flows from a life lived close to God, so a careless life makes for weak prayer. And God really answers. He has chosen to work through the prayers of His people.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7
TheWay Library has more books on prayer than on almost any other subject. Here are fifteen of the best, ordered so you can start simple and go deeper.
Start here
1. With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray
Thirty-one lessons, each built on a saying of Jesus, beginning with the disciples' request, "Lord, teach us to pray." Murray leads you through believing prayer, definite prayer, persevering prayer, praying together, praying in Jesus' name and intercession. Read one lesson a day.
My prayer will depend on my life: what God's words are to me and in me, my words will be to God and in God.
With Christ in the School of Prayer, lesson 22
See our summary, the book's best quotes and what it means to pray in Jesus' name. Read With Christ in the School of Prayer.
2. Power Through Prayer, by E. M. Bounds
Twenty short chapters arguing that the power of preaching comes from the preacher's prayer life, not his talent or method. Written for ministers, but it searches anyone who serves.
Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still.
Power Through Prayer, Chapter IV
See our Power Through Prayer summary and study guide. Read Power Through Prayer.
3. Quiet Talks on Prayer, by S. D. Gordon
Gordon's popular talks, in four parts: what prayer is and does, what hinders it, how to pray, and how Jesus prayed. He pictures prayer as the deciding factor in a spiritual battle, with the earth as the battlefield. Warm, plain and full of illustrations.
Faith is not believing that He can but that He will.
Quiet Talks on Prayer, chapter 4
4. Prevailing Prayer, by D. L. Moody
Moody takes the elements of true prayer one at a time: adoration, confession, restitution, thanksgiving, forgiveness, unity, faith, petition and submission. The chapter on restitution is the one people remember, because it asks whether anything stands between you and God that you could put right today.
I would a thousand times rather that God's will should be done than my own.
Prevailing Prayer, chapter 10
5. Secret Prayer, by H. C. G. Moule
Short, practical addresses first given to Cambridge students. Moule faces the real difficulties of private prayer, then gives methods and helps: prepare beforehand, be simple and specific, and let the Bible lead.
Let not good books, be they what they may, oust the Book.
Secret Prayer, chapter 2
Prayer answered
6. How God Answers Prayer, by George Müller
A short book, mostly in Müller's own words, on how he ran the Bristol orphan houses by prayer alone, never asking anyone for money. It includes his five conditions of prevailing prayer and his counsel on Bible reading and knowing God's will.
There must be waiting on God and waiting for God, as the husbandman has long patience to wait for the harvest.
How God Answers Prayer, chapter 4
See Who Was George Müller? and George Müller on prayer and faith. Read How God Answers Prayer.
7. The Life of Trust, by George Müller
The full record, year by year, of how God supplied the orphan work in answer to prayer. Long, but it is hard to keep doubting after reading it. Dip in anywhere. Read The Life of Trust.
8. How I Know God Answers Prayer, by Rosalind Goforth
A missionary wife in North China gathers definite answers to prayer from forty years, small and great, including her family's escape during the Boxer uprising. Good for anyone who wonders whether God really answers specific requests. More lives like hers are in our guide to the best missionary biographies. Read How I Know God Answers Prayer.
Go deeper
9. Purpose in Prayer, by E. M. Bounds
Bounds argues that prayer is a real force God has chosen to work through. It outlives the one who prays, and it must come from a holy life and a steady habit, not a hurried duty. The chapters on importunity, praying until the answer comes, are some of his best.
The closet cannot be made holy to God when the life has not been holy to God.
Purpose in Prayer, Chapter X
See our summary, and what Bounds teaches about importunate prayer. Read Purpose in Prayer. For all of Bounds' books, see E. M. Bounds books.
10. The Reality of Prayer, by E. M. Bounds
Bounds turns to Jesus as the teacher and example of prayer: His teaching, the prayers in His life, the Lord's Prayer, John 17 and Gethsemane, then the Holy Spirit as our helper in prayer. Read this one to learn to pray from the Gospels. Read The Reality of Prayer.
11. Lessons in the School of Prayer, by Arthur T. Pierson
Pierson gathers every saying of Jesus on prayer and arranges them as graded lessons: communion with God in the closet, what to pray for and how, and the "higher secrets" of prayer. Short and well organized.
The praying soul speaks to God, and hears God speak.
Lessons in the School of Prayer
Read Lessons in the School of Prayer.
12. The Practice of Prayer, by G. Campbell Morgan
Morgan answers the question whether prayer is even possible, then shows how a life prepares for prayer and studies the subjects of prayer in the Lord's Prayer. Thoughtful and clear.
They did not say, Lord, teach us how to pray, but, "Lord, teach us to pray."
The Practice of Prayer, chapter 1
13. The Prayers of St. Paul, by W. H. Griffith Thomas
A short study of the prayers in Paul's letters, grouped by theme: grace and holiness, knowledge and obedience, strength and indwelling. It will teach you what to ask for others, and Paul's prayers are a fine pattern to pray yourself. Read The Prayers of St. Paul.
Praying with others
14. Only a Prayer Meeting, by C. H. Spurgeon
Forty short addresses, most given at the Monday night prayer meetings of Spurgeon's London church. He defends the prayer meeting against those who look down on it, gives advice on running one, and asks for "business prayers" that ask for definite things.
We need the secret prevalence of chosen servants of the Lord, whose business is not so much with men for God as with God for men.
Only a Prayer Meeting, Fighting and Praying
15. C. H. Spurgeon's Prayers
Twenty-five of the prayers Spurgeon prayed aloud before his congregation. Reading another believer's prayers can widen your own, and these are full of Scripture and adoration. Pray one slowly as your own. Read C. H. Spurgeon's Prayers.
More to explore
R. A. Torrey's How to Pray is a much-loved short book; our How to Pray summary and hindrances to prayer walk through it (the text in the library is still being proofread). Murray's Lord, Teach Us to Pray is a one-hour taste of his longer book. And for a life given to prayer, read the diary of David Brainerd; see David Brainerd's prayer life.
Where to start
- New to prayer: Murray's With Christ in the School of Prayer, a lesson a day.
- Prayer feels dry: Moule's Secret Prayer, then Gordon.
- Doubting God answers: Müller, then Goforth.
- In ministry: Bounds' Power Through Prayer, then Spurgeon.
More books are on the prayer topic page.