A helpful prayer book should meet a real need in your spiritual life. Alongside these reading suggestions, see our guide to praying when you do not know what to say. These twenty titles offer starting points for exploring private prayer, biblical teaching, and perseverance. Choose one to read thoughtfully, keeping your Bible alongside it and making time to put useful lessons into practice.
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Before you choose: Read sample pages, check the edition and current availability, and compare the teaching with Scripture. These are reading suggestions, not a claim that every title has been personally read or tested.
Find a starting point for your season.
- Building a practice: Praying the Bible or A Praying Life.
- Studying biblical prayer: Praying with Paul.
- Short devotional readings: Worry Less, Pray More or Prayers to Calm Your Anxious Heart.
- Facing unanswered prayer: God on Mute.
- Exploring historic writing: The Hidden Life of Prayer or The Valley of Vision.
Browse all 20 books
- The Hidden Life of Prayer
- Why Revival Tarries
- Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
- The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer
- Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation
- A Call to Prayer
- A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
- Praying the Bible
- Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight
- The Power of Prayer and Fasting
- The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions
- Worry Less, Pray More
- When Women Pray
- Prayer: Communing with God in Everything
- The Battle Plan for Prayer
- Dangerous Prayers
- Prayers to Calm Your Anxious Heart
- Dear God: Honest Prayers to a God Who Listens
- Smith Wigglesworth on Prayer, Power, and Miracles
- God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer
These starting points are editorial suggestions based on the books’ documented formats and subjects. Scripture quotations within the books may use translations other than the KJV.
1. The Hidden Life of Prayer.
David McIntyre
McIntyre makes the case for private prayer, drawing on examples from earlier Christian leaders. The focus is sustained personal devotion rather than a collection of ready-made prayers.
Consider this for: Readers who want a classic treatment of private prayer.
Check before choosing: Historical examples can encourage commitment without becoming a required daily timetable for every reader.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
2. Why Revival Tarries.
Leonard Ravenhill
Ravenhill challenges spiritual complacency and calls the church to prayer and revival. The publisher describes a forceful appeal, and the 2004 edition includes questions for individual or group study.
Consider this for: Church leaders and readers seeking a challenging discussion of revival.
Check before choosing: Its confrontational tone may not suit someone seeking gentle encouragement. Read its claims alongside Scripture rather than treating revival as a result any reader can guarantee.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
3. Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God.
Timothy Keller
Keller combines theological discussion with practical guidance for prayer, including situations involving forgiveness, love, loss, and grief. The book explores both reverence for God and closeness to Him.
Consider this for: Readers who want to understand prayer as well as practice it.
Check before choosing: Choose this for extended reflection; if you want a short method to try immediately, consider Praying the Bible below.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
4. The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer.
E. M. Bounds
This collection brings together eight works about prayer. It offers a larger body of teaching to explore over time, rather than simply a book of prayers to recite.
Consider this for: Readers looking for an extended collection for ongoing study.
Check before choosing: Check the contents and language of the edition you buy; publishers offer different formats. Start with one work instead of trying to finish the entire collection quickly.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
5. Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation.
D. A. Carson
Carson examines prayer through Paul’s example and calls readers toward a more God-centered prayer life. The work was previously published as A Call to Spiritual Reformation.
Consider this for: Readers who want biblical study to shape what they pray for themselves and others.
Check before choosing: Read the biblical passages alongside the discussion. This is a study-oriented choice rather than primarily a collection of short daily prayers.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
6. A Call to Prayer.
J. C. Ryle
Ryle’s brief work urges readers to take private prayer seriously, discussing its privileges and the dangers of neglecting it. Banner of Truth’s edition is a short booklet.
Consider this for: Readers who want a concise challenge to begin or renew private prayer.
Check before choosing: The urgent tone invites self-examination. Do not turn devotional consistency into a claim that we earn God’s grace.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
7. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World.
Paul E. Miller
Miller addresses prayer amid the distractions of daily life. The expanded edition includes material on lament and practical guidance for using prayer cards.
Consider this for: Readers looking for help bringing everyday concerns into a regular prayer practice.
Check before choosing: Check which edition you are purchasing if you want the additional chapters. Prayer cards are an organizational aid, not a formula for controlling outcomes.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
8. Praying the Bible.
Donald S. Whitney
Whitney teaches a practical approach to letting Scripture guide prayer. Chapters address the Psalms and other parts of the Bible, and Crossway provides a leader’s guide.
Consider this for: Readers who feel stuck repeating the same requests and want a specific practice to try.
Check before choosing: Let the passage prompt prayer while respecting its meaning in context. You can use your own KJV Bible alongside the book.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
9. Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight.
J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom
Packer and Nystrom explore the difficulties of prayer and encourage readers through a clearer understanding of God’s character. Their approach recognizes the gap between wanting to pray and finding prayer easy.
Consider this for: Readers who want thoughtful encouragement through struggles with prayer.
Check before choosing: This is an extended discussion to work through gradually. Leave room to reflect rather than expecting a quick checklist.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
10. The Power of Prayer and Fasting.
Ronnie Floyd
Floyd discusses prayer and fasting as practices of humility and seeking God. The revised edition includes accounts from his experience and guidance for readers unfamiliar with fasting. Bill Bright is listed as a contributor in the bibliographic record, rather than the principal author.
Consider this for: Readers specifically studying the relationship between prayer and fasting.
Check before choosing: Treat this as a spiritual resource, not personalized medical guidance or a guarantee of a particular breakthrough.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
11. The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions.
edited by Arthur Bennett
This is a collection of written prayers and devotions drawn from the Puritan tradition. Bennett is the editor; the book supplies actual prayers for reflection, rather than only advice about composing them.
Consider this for: Readers who want written prayers to read slowly and use as prompts.
Check before choosing: Read a sample to see whether its older devotional language and theological approach suit you. Let the prayers help you express your own concerns.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
12. Worry Less, Pray More.
Donna K. Maltese
Barbour’s edition contains 180 devotional readings and prayers aimed at women bringing everyday worries to God.
Consider this for: Readers who prefer brief devotional readings.
Check before choosing: Check the Scripture translations in the sample; this is not a KJV-only edition. Read its encouragement without treating it as a promise that anxiety will disappear.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
13. When Women Pray.
T. D. Jakes
Jakes reflects on ten women of the Bible and draws lessons about prayer, identity, and faith.
Consider this for: Readers interested in a thematic study of biblical women.
Check before choosing: Read the original biblical accounts alongside the applications, distinguishing the author’s interpretation from the text itself.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
14. Prayer: Communing with God in Everything.
A. W. Tozer
This volume collects Tozer’s insights on prayer as part of a life of communion with God.
Consider this for: Readers drawn to reflective devotional teaching.
Check before choosing: It is a collection of insights rather than a single step-by-step prayer course. Sample the writing before selecting an edition.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
15. The Battle Plan for Prayer.
Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick
The Kendrick brothers offer a structured approach to developing intentional prayer, with teaching directed toward everyday life and service.
Consider this for: Readers who want an organized approach to prayer.
Check before choosing: Both Stephen and Alex Kendrick are credited as authors. Distinguish the main book from companion journals or other related resources when ordering.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
16. Dangerous Prayers.
Craig Groeschel
Groeschel challenges readers to move beyond comfortable patterns in prayer and consider deeper surrender and service.
Consider this for: Readers seeking a direct challenge to spiritual complacency.
Check before choosing: Read a sample to assess whether the challenging tone suits your current season. Do not treat dramatic language as an instruction to pursue unsafe situations.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
17. Prayers to Calm Your Anxious Heart.
Julie K. Gillies
The publisher describes 100 devotional readings with Scripture-based prayers and room for personal reflection.
Consider this for: Readers looking for short written reflections during worried seasons.
Check before choosing: Choose it as a devotional companion rather than a promise of a particular emotional outcome. Check the edition’s Scripture translations if you prefer the KJV.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
18. Dear God: Honest Prayers to a God Who Listens.
Bunmi Laditan
This Zondervan title is a collection presented around honest prayers to God. The listed author is Bunmi Laditan.
Consider this for: Readers interested in a contemporary collection of personal prayers.
Check before choosing: Read the available sample before buying to evaluate the language and theological approach. This entry identifies the book; it does not claim a full-text review.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
19. Smith Wigglesworth on Prayer, Power, and Miracles.
Smith Wigglesworth; compiled by Roberts Liardon
This collection brings together Wigglesworth’s sermons on prayer, power, and miracles. Roberts Liardon is the compiler, rather than the original preacher.
Consider this for: Readers studying historical Pentecostal preaching.
Check before choosing: Compare its claims with Scripture and distinguish accounts of particular experiences from promises that every reader will experience the same result.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
20. God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer.
Pete Greig
Greig addresses the difficulty of unanswered prayer and seeks to offer hope to readers facing God’s apparent silence.
Consider this for: Readers wrestling with disappointment or the experience of waiting in prayer.
Check before choosing: This is a different emphasis from a guide to building a daily routine. Read it for reflection on difficult questions, without expecting a simple explanation for every loss.
Read the source or edition details · View on Amazon (affiliate link)
Start with the help you need.
Choose a practical guide if you want a routine, a devotional if you prefer short readings, or a book about unanswered prayer if you are working through difficult questions. These suggestions are based on the linked book and publisher information, not personal testing of every title.
You do not need to buy several books to begin. Read a sample, choose one if it suits you, and make room to pray. Retail prices, availability, and shortened Amazon link destinations have not been confirmed.
For a free starting point, explore our prayer course and printable prayer journal.
About the Author
Ordained Christian Minister Since 1988
Pastor David Small has served in Christian ministry for 38 years, preaching, teaching, and encouraging believers to grow in their relationship with God. His experience includes pastoral leadership, evangelism, biblical teaching, and helping individuals and families navigate life’s challenges through faith and prayer.