One thing that has really helped me in my spiritual formation has been the reading of devotional books. I've recently decided to become more intentional about reading devotional classics.
One thing about devotional classics is that they must be read with both an open heart and caution. An open heart because it is good for us to fill our minds with writings that direct our thoughts to God. Caution because not everything that any particular writer says is always 100% biblical all the time. It basically comes down to eating up the good and throwing out the weird.
That being said, I feel like reading devotional books along with daily Bible reading can be a tremendous benefit for our spiritual growth. I'm currently reading through The Imitation Of Christ by the 16th century monk Thomas a Kempis. It's split up into nice little 1-2 page chapters that makes for good succinct daily reading. A couple other devotional books I'd recommend are:
The Way Of The Heart- Henri Nouwen
The Pursuit Of God- A.W. Tozer
In The Name Of Jesus- Henri Nouwen
The Divine Conspiracy- Dallas Willard
Celebration Of Discipline- Richard Foster
Power Through Prayer- E.M. Bounds
Secrets Of The Secret Place- Bob Sorge
The Practice Of The Presence Of God- Brother Lawrence
My Utmost For His Highest- Oswald Chambers
A Hunger For God- John Piper
I'll stop there for the sake of time. I've deliberately kept this list to the kinds of books that are easier to read. There are many, many other good devotional books out there. Are there any others that you have found helpful in your life? Feel free to share your thoughts in a comment.
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Thursday, November 8, 2007
Devotional Literature
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4 comments:
"Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ" - Madame Guyon. Need I say more?
Streams in the Desert! It was given to me as a gift for my college graduation with the inscription:
"I pray that your deserts will be few, but they will come. When they do, know that the Living Water will always be there for you".
I haven't read streams. I think I have a copy of it somewhere though. I'll have to check it out.
good post. i liked the comment on separating the good from the weird, that's a really good insight. good selection of books too.
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