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Intentional Prayers — Part 1 of 2
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Pray Intentionally
The Christian’s Prayer Library — Part 1 of 2
Six influential prayer books that have helped Christians worship, confess, listen, and live in God’s presence
Christians first learn to pray from Scripture, especially from the Psalms, the prayers of Jesus, and the Lord’s Prayer. Across the centuries, faithful writers have also gathered biblical prayers, devotional reflections, and practical patterns that help believers put those scriptural truths into words. The first six works in this prayer library range from historic liturgy and Puritan devotion to continual communion with God and modern biblical teaching.
OPEN IT
The disciples did not ask Jesus merely for information about prayer. They asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Jesus answered with a pattern that begins with God’s name, kingdom, and will before turning to daily needs, forgiveness, relationships, and protection. Prayer is therefore more than presenting a list of requests. It is a God-centered way of seeing and living.
Scripture also presents prayer as praise, confession, thanksgiving, lament, intercession, surrender, and attentive fellowship with God. The six books below emphasize different parts of that biblical landscape. None replaces the Bible. At their best, they help readers return to Scripture with a richer vocabulary and a more disciplined heart.
“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” — Ephesians 6:18
EXPLORE IT
1. The Book of Common Prayer
Primary compiler: Thomas Cranmer and subsequent Church of England revisers
First edition: 1549; enduring English edition: 1662
Prayer emphasis: Corporate worship, daily prayer, confession, Scripture reading, the church year, and pastoral rites
The Book of Common Prayer gave English-speaking Christians a shared language for worship at church and at home. Its daily offices weave together Psalms, Bible readings, creeds, collects, confession, and intercession. It teaches that prayer is not only spontaneous; it can also be formed through repeated, Scripture-saturated words.
Prayer introduction: Begin by acknowledging that God knows the heart, asking Him to cleanse your thoughts, and preparing to worship Him sincerely.
Read about the Book of Common Prayer at the Church of England
2. The Valley of Vision
Editor: Arthur Bennett
Published: 1975
Prayer emphasis: God’s holiness, human sin, Christ’s sufficiency, repentance, grace, and spiritual longing
This collection arranges prayers drawn from the Puritan devotional tradition. Its language often holds apparent opposites together: sorrow and joy, weakness and strength, emptiness and fullness. The prayers train the reader to confess honestly while trusting completely in the mercy of Christ.
Prayer introduction: Come before the high and holy God from the “valley” of humility, trusting that the lowest place of repentance can become a place of clearer spiritual vision.
3. The Practice of the Presence of God
Source: Conversations and letters associated with Brother Lawrence
Published posthumously: 1692
Prayer emphasis: Continual awareness of God during ordinary work and daily life
Brother Lawrence’s central insight is wonderfully simple: fellowship with God need not be confined to a chapel or a scheduled devotional hour. Work in a kitchen, a conversation, a difficulty, or a quiet moment may all become occasions for loving attention to God.
Prayer introduction: Turn the heart toward God in the present moment and offer the task immediately before you as an act of love.
Read The Practice of the Presence of God at Project Gutenberg
4. Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
Author: Timothy Keller
Published: 2014
Prayer emphasis: Biblical theology, meditation, communion with God, awe, intimacy, and disciplined practice
Keller brings together biblical exposition, historic Christian teaching, and practical guidance. He presents prayer as both conversation and encounter: believers respond to what God has spoken in Scripture and seek communion with the One who speaks.
Prayer introduction: Read a passage slowly, consider what it reveals about God, and then answer God with adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and petition.
5. A Diary of Private Prayer
Author: John Baillie
Published: 1936
Prayer emphasis: Morning and evening devotion, self-examination, vocation, gratitude, and intercession
Baillie’s prayers accompany the reader through a month of mornings and evenings. They bring work, relationships, memory, responsibility, and the needs of the world into God’s presence. The book models a prayer life that is personal without becoming self-absorbed.
Prayer introduction: Consecrate the coming day to God in the morning, then review the day honestly and gratefully before Him at night.
6. Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home
Author: Richard J. Foster
Published: 1992
Prayer emphasis: A broad range of prayer traditions, including simple prayer, examen, lament, intercession, healing, contemplation, and surrender
Foster organizes prayer into movements that draw believers inward toward transformation, upward toward intimacy with God, and outward toward ministry. The book encourages readers to approach prayer honestly rather than waiting until they feel spiritually polished.
Prayer introduction: Begin where you truly are, not where you think a praying person ought to be, and bring that unedited self into God’s gracious presence.
GET IT
These books differ in period, denomination, vocabulary, and method, yet several themes unite them:
- Prayer begins with God. His character, Word, kingdom, and glory establish the direction of prayer.
- Scripture supplies prayer’s vocabulary. The Psalms, the Lord’s Prayer, and biblical promises keep devotion rooted in truth.
- Honesty and reverence belong together. Believers may confess sin and weakness without hiding, because they approach God through grace.
- Prayer includes the whole of life. Work, relationships, suffering, gratitude, mission, and ordinary duties all belong before God.
- Prayer forms the person who prays. We do not pray only to change circumstances; God also uses prayer to reshape desires, habits, and character.
APPLY IT
Build a simple prayer-library practice
- Keep Scripture first. Begin each prayer time with a Psalm, a Gospel passage, or another portion of Scripture.
- Select one companion book. Read only a page or prayer at a time rather than rushing through several resources.
- Rewrite, do not merely repeat. After reading a historic prayer, express its biblical theme in your own words and circumstances.
- Use a balanced pattern. Include adoration, confession, thanksgiving, intercession, and surrender.
- Carry prayer into ordinary life. Pause during work, travel, meals, conversations, and decisions to acknowledge God’s presence.
- Keep a brief record. Note the date, Scripture, people prayed for, insight received, and any answer or change you later recognize.
Father, teach us to pray with minds shaped by Scripture, hearts made humble by grace, and lives attentive to Your presence. Use the wisdom of faithful believers to lead us back—not merely to their words—but to Your Word, Your will, and deeper fellowship with You. Through Jesus Christ, amen.
DO • KNOW • EXPERIENCE
Pray intentionally every day.
God invites His people to approach Him with reverence and confidence.
A deeper relationship with Christ through faithful, Scripture-centered prayer.
Footnotes
- Luke 11:1–4 and Matthew 6:9–13 record Jesus’ instruction commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer.
- Ephesians 6:18 describes prayer as an ongoing, Spirit-dependent practice that includes supplication for all believers.
- The first English Book of Common Prayer appeared in 1549; the 1662 edition remains a foundational text in Anglican worship.
- Arthur Bennett compiled and edited The Valley of Vision, drawing from the Puritan devotional tradition.
- The Practice of the Presence of God consists chiefly of remembered conversations and letters associated with Brother Lawrence and published after his death.
- Timothy Keller’s Prayer presents prayer through biblical teaching, historic Christian sources, and practical methods of meditation and response.
- John Baillie structured A Diary of Private Prayer around morning and evening prayers for thirty-one days.
- Richard Foster’s Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home surveys multiple Christian expressions of prayer and organizes them around inward, upward, and outward movements.
- The descriptions in this article are interpretive summaries intended to introduce each work rather than reproduce its copyrighted text.
Hyperlinked Bibliography
- Matthew 6:5–13 — Jesus’ teaching on prayer
- Luke 11:1–13 — “Lord, teach us to pray”
- Ephesians 6:18 — Praying at all times
- Church of England — The Book of Common Prayer
- Bennett, Arthur, ed. — The Valley of Vision
- Brother Lawrence — The Practice of the Presence of God, Project Gutenberg
- Keller, Timothy — Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
- Baillie, John — A Diary of Private Prayer, Internet Archive search
- Foster, Richard J. — Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home
- BibleProject — Guide to the Book of Psalms
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