1. Time for God, Fr. Jaques Philippe – a book I always recommend to folks on the topic of prayer.  A concise, very readable, modern introduction to prayer.  The best chapter is “The Evolution of the Life of Prayer” where he discusses “Moving from the mind to the heart” and “The wounded heart.”
2. Interior Freedom, Fr. Jacques Philippe – by the same author as above.  (Really, I recommend anything by him.)  Another highly readable short book (134 pp.) on the basis for interior growth.  “Written in a simple and inviting style, this book seeks to liberate the heart and mind to enable it to live the true freedom to which God calls each one.”
3. Impact of God, Iain Matthew – a great introduction to St. John of the Cross.  I have recommended this book to countless people and have not found one who hasn’t loved it.
4. Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton – If I remember correctly, this was the book that opened my eyes to the possibilities in prayer.
5. Guidelines for Mystical Prayer, Ruth Burrows – a down-to-earth book on contemplative prayer.
6. When the Well Runs Dry, Prayer beyond the Beginnings,  Fr. Thomas Green – I’ve told folks that this book saved my prayer life the first time I experienced intensive dry prayer.
7. An Ignatian Introduction to Prayer, Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher – If you have a desire to meditate on Scripture and don’t know where to begin, this is the book for you.  40 well-laid out meditations that God will speak to you through.
8. Contemplative Vision, A Guide to Christian Art and Prayer, Juliet Brenner.  This is a wonderful little book of meditations on pieces of art, each with an accompanying Scripture passage.  This is a book I will come back to again and again.
9. Contemplative Provocations, Brief, concentrated observations on aspects of a life with God, Fr. Donald Haggerty – “A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly.  Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God.  This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer.”
10. Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden, a Theological Contemplation on Prayer, Dr. Anthony Lilles: the title describes the book well.  It is a beautiful book, easy to read, that inspires one to pray.

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