I’ve been thinking about Christian spirituality these days. I have sensed the need to grow deeper in my walk with the Lord in recent years, and this has prompted me to dig into the riches of the Christian tradition to try to understand myself and my relationship with God. Much of the impetus for this thinking stems from a series of trials that my family and I experienced in 2019 and the years following that left me feeling crushed and in need of a deeper experience with God.
I want to share some of the helpful sources I have found in order to help interested readers find some help in exploring this topic. Some of the books I’ve listed below I’ve read myself and evaluate for you. The inclusion of a book below does not constitute an endorsement of the its content; it only indicates it is relevant to the collection and may be helpful for those interested in this topic.
Overview
Boa, Kenneth. Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical approaches to Spiritual Formation (Zondervan, 2020). This book was assigned to me in a seminary class on discipleship. It is an excellent overview of the various approaches to Christian spirituality, presented as 12 facets, such as “relational spirituality,” “disciplined spirituality,” “Spirit-filled spirituality” and “Warfare spirituality.”
Foster, Richard. Streams of Living Water: Essential Practices from the Six Great Traditions of Christian Faith (HarperOne: 2001). I’ve not read this, but it looks very much like Boa’s Conformed to His Image.
Holt, Bradley P. Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality (3rd ed., Fortress: 2017). I like this book because it discusses all the major figures in the history of Christian spirituality, from the earliest times until the present. I have discovered a number of authors that I was not previously aware of, and he helpfully places authors I know about into the big picture of the history of Christian spirituality. His introductory material was also helpful for me in thinking through my own spirituality. I don’t agree with all of the approaches to Christian spirituality that he promotes, but, the discerning reader should be able to eat the meat and spit out the bones. It’s a very good short introduction to the major people and movements in the history of Christian spirituality, and each chapter contains a bibliography and suggestions for spiritual practices.
Louth, Andrew. The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition: From Plato to Denys (OUP: 2007). I have not read this one yet, but it looks like it follows a similar path to McGinn’s Foundations.
McGinn, Bernard. Foundations of Mysticism: Origins to the Fifth Century (Crossroad, 1991). I really like this book because it focuses on the pursuit of the presence of God at the very beginning of the Christian faith and shows how earlier movements, like Jewish apocalypticism and Platonism, were influences on what became Christian spirituality. What makes this source relevant is that McGinn shows that what holds the Christian mystical tradition together (also known as the “contemplative” tradition) is the concern with a “consciousness of the divine presence,” a concern that Christians throughout the ages have shared. It’s the first volume in a multivolume series that tracks the development of Christian spirituality throughout the Western church.
Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (NavPress: 2014). I used this in seminary and found it helpful. It is a very Bible-centered approach.
Whitney, Donald S. Praying the Bible (Crossway: 2015). A helpful introduction to praying Scripture.
Prayer Books/Liturgy
Benedict of Nursia, Regula Sancti Benedicti (The Rule of St. Benedict, written ca. 530). This is an extremely early and influential guidebook for monastic living. There are many editions available online. Here’s a Latin-English PDF. There’s a daily reading available online.
Bennett, Arthur. The Valley of Vision. A collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. A classic in Puritan devotion. It is very edifying, though at times a little cerebral.
The Book of Common Prayer. This is the defining document for the Anglican/Episcopal church. For many low-church Christians it often serves as a “gateway drug” to more liturgical and traditional forms of worship.
Elmer, Robert (ed.). Fount of Heaven: Prayers of the Early Church (Lexham: 2022). Like the more well-known Valley of Vision, this book of prayers contains prayers of the church, in this case the early church (Augustine is prominent). Highly recommended.
Gibson, Jonathan. Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship (Crossway: 2021).
McKelvey, Douglas. Every Moment Holy. According to the website, “The Every Moment Holy series of books by Douglas McKelvey and published by Rabbit Room Press brings new prayers and liturgies for the ordinary events of daily life. These prayers are ways of reminding us that our lives are shot through with sacred purpose even when, especially when, we are too busy or too caught up in our busyness to notice. The prayers are accented with linocut illustrations by Ned Bustard.”
Wax, Trevin. Life of Jesus in 30 Days (2023). I bought a copy of this prayer book at the last ETS conference, and I have really enjoyed it. It is set up to read through the life of Jesus in 30 days, using selections from the four Gospels (CSB) organized into daily morning, noon, and evening readings. Each morning includes some confession of faith (either historical, such as the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed, or based on scriptural statements). Each evening includes a confession of sin. Prayers from the church, as well as various Psalms and blessings, etc. are also included. You need to know that it is not a harmony or a synopsis or a study of the life of Christ, but rather selections from the Gospels. If you know that going into the book it is really helpful. I loved reading through the birth narratives, the teachings of Jesus (e.g., Sermon on the Mount, John 3, etc.) and the death and resurrection narratives in a 30 day period, and will likely use it again soon.
Wax, Trevin. Psalms in 30 Days (2023). Same as the previous, except providing a read through the Psalms in 30 days. They are mostly in order, with some exceptions. The superscriptions are not included, nor are the headings that separate the 5 books of Psalms. The writing is smaller than the life of Jesus volume, which is harder for me as my eyesight is not as good as it used to be. In addition to the morning, noon, and evening readings, the accompanying readings are patterned every 7 days to thematically emphasize the advent, incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension, and the glory of the Trinity (i.e., patterned after the Christian calendar).
Theology/Devotional
Chan, Simon. Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life (IVP: 1998). This was cited in Hall, Relational Spirituality (see below). From the book: “Simon Chan surveys the little-explored landscape where systematic theology and godly praxis meet, highlighting the connections between Christian doctrine and Christian living and drawing out the spiritual implications of particular aspects of systematic theology.” Looks interesting.
Duvall, J. Scott, and J. Daniel Hays. God’s Relational Presence: The Cohesive Center of Biblical Theology (Baker: 2019). Also cited in Hall, Relational Spirituality.
Edwards, Jonathan. The Religious Affections (1746). A classic work on the role of the affections in the Christian life, particularly as they come into play to discern false from true conversions. A helpful intro can be found here. There is a free online version in simplified English here.
Murray, Andrew. Experiencing the Holy Spirit. Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was a pastor in South Africa and was a proponent of Keswick or “Higher Life” spirituality (“Let go and let God”). Though I generally do not agree with this approach, I appreciate his desire to see the church empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Owen, John. Communion with God (1657). There is an abridged and simplified version published by Banner of Truth. There is also a version that has archaic words footnoted (edited by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor with an introductory essay by Kevin Vanhoozer). There is also a modernized version here.
Packer, J. I. Keep in Step with the Spirit: Finding Fullness in Our Walk with God (Crossway: 2021). Packer advocates for a warm-hearted, theologically robust view of the spiritual life from a traditionally reformed perspective. He generally opposes the Keswick and Charismatic approach to the spiritual life.
Piper, John. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Multnomah: 2011).
Tozer, A. W. The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine (Moody: 2015). What I really appreciated about this book is that it is very Bible-oriented, and yet Tozer cites Christians from the mystical tradition of the church. He provides a bridge between conservative American evangelical theology with the great tradition of Christian mysticism.
Willard, Dallas. Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God (IVP: 2021). The jury is still for me out on the idea that we should expect to hear God speak to us with a “still small voice” in the back of our heads. This book by Dallas Willard promotes that view, and once day I might read it myself. Other books along this line are Keith Anderson, The Spirituality of Listening, Sam Williamson, Hearing God in Conversation, and John Eldridge, Walking with God. 9Marks has a review of Willard’s book here, in which they are critical of the basic premise. My own rather half-baked idea (kind of a middle ground) is that perhaps God can speak to us by means of our own mental processes as our minds are transformed through immersion in Scripture and prompted by the Holy Spirit.
Spirituality and Suffering
Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy (AD 524). Boethius was a man of wisdom and integrity who was accused of treason and thrown in prison. Before his execution in 524, he finished this book, in which he recounts how Philosophy, personified as a woman, comes to instruct him and console him. While he approaches the topic from the perspective of philosophy rather than religion, there is ample evidence that he saw the two domains as conveying substantively the same message, and so we should not overlook this as an essentially religious work. There is a Latin text available for free online.
Crabb, Larry. Shattered Dreams: God’s Unexpected Path to Joy (Waterbrook: 2001). This book was highly recommended, and I wish I had found this years ago. When I read this book, it was as if the author was in my own head listening to my thoughts while I was suffering. If you are going through suffering and wondering how to relate to God through it, this book can help.
Hagberg, Janet O., and Robert A. Guelich. The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith (Sheffield: 2005). This was cited in Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.
Sibbes, Richard. The Bruised Reed (1631). This is a classic Puritan work dealing with the tenderness and mercy of Christ to poor sinners. There is a simplified modern English edition that seems very good. Here’s an overview.
Thompson, Curt. The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope (Zondervan: 2023). Thompson looks at the development of Christian hope from Romans 5:1–5 in light of modern psychology and neurology.
Mysticism/Contemplative Spirituality
Brother Lawrence. The Practice of the Presence of God (1600s). This spiritual classic is available in a number of translations and editions. Looks like it was probably originally compiled in French, for you language nerds.
McGinn, Bernard (ed.). The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism (Modern Library: 2006). This volume contains selections of the church’s greater mystics. It is a great introduction to the primary sources and is organized logically.
Merton, Thomas. Contemplative Prayer (1969). Thomas Merton is one of the most well-known advocates for the contemplative tradition of Christianity. A trappist monk, he wrote a number of books, the most famous of which is The Seven Story Mountain, his spiritual autobiography.
Merton, Thomas. A Course in Christian Mysticism (Liturgical Press: 2017). Based on his lecture notes, this book gives an overview of the most important developments in the Christian mystical tradition.
St. John of the Cross. The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross (ICS: 1991). John is famous for his essay, “The Dark Night of the Soul.” He is concerned with guiding people through the internal journey of faith to experience union with God, what we would nowadays call “spiritual direction.”
Thomas à Kempis. The Imitation of Christ (1418). This is a classic devotional work. It’s misnamed, in my thinking. The idea of imitating Christ is there, but it’s not as prominent as the title suggests. It’s more in the mystical tradition of simplicity and prayer and contempt for the world. One of my favorite lines from the first chapter is, “It’s better to experience repentance than to be able to define it” (paraphrased). There’s a Latin version available online.
Spirituality and Modern Disciplines
Comer, John Mark. Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become like Him, Do as He Did (Waterbrook: 2024). This book is an excellent guide to a spirituality based on becoming an apprentice to Jesus (= disciple). He brings in contemplative spirituality and modern science as well. I really liked the approach, but I did not like the book due to the writing style and formatting, which were painful for me to endure. (I’m really picky about books.) I will say if you’re interested in some of the recent moves to integrate modern science with ancient and modern Christian spirituality, you’ll find the endnotes helpful.
Coursey, Chris M. The Joy Switch: How Your Brain’s Secret Circuit Affects Your Relationships–And How You Can Activate It (2021). This book is a helpful popularization of some recent work on joy from a Christian perspective. It’s not written extremely well, but it’s useful and an easy read.
Hall, Todd W., and M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall. Relational Spirituality: A Psychological-Theological Paradigm for Transformation (IVP: 2021). This book was extremely helpful for me. The authors argue from theology, psychology, and recent brain-science for a model for spiritual growth that is based on (1) our relation nature as made in the image of the Trinity, (2) a relational goal of sanctification as loving God and others, and (3) a relational process by which we grow. Two big parts of the puzzle for them are the ideas of explicit versus implicit knowledge (that we have relational knowledge that tends to be emotional and non-propositional and that it works in tandem with our more verbal and propositional knowledge) and the idea of attachment filters (that we can develop particular ways of relating to people based on our early experiences with significant people in our lives that are formative for our relationships, including our relationship with God). If you don’t want the dense, technical version, there is a more popular level version called The Connected Life: The Art and Science of Relational Spirituality (IVP: 2022).
James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902). This classic book was one of the earliest attempts to study spirituality descriptively as a facet of human experience in terms of psychological processes. Being 1902, it’s primarily focused on Christianity, and though he remains charitable and favorable to the general idea of religion, he himself is not a Christian. He concludes that religion is a natural part of human life because through it we get in touch with something “more” than the observable world. While I found his evaluation of Christianity wanting, the actual organization and analysis of religious experience is really interesting and helpful.
Newberg, Andrew B. Principles of Neurotheology (Ashgate: 2010). So, I’m a nerd, but the idea of bringing together neuroscience and religious experience sounds actually really interesting, and I just found out recently that this is a thing which people are calling neurotheology.
Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It’s Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature, While Remaining Emotionally Immature (Zondervan: 2017). The author brings together emotional intelligence and contemplative practices in order to help readers grow in their spirituality.
Thompson, Curt. The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves (IVP: 2015).
Wilder, Jim, and Michel Hendricks. The Other Half of Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation (Moody: 2020). From the publisher: “Using brain science, Wilder identified that there are two halves of the church: the rational half and the relational half. And when Christians only embrace the rational half, churches become unhealthy places where transformation doesn’t last and narcissistic leaders flourish.”
Earthen Vessel 