Below are some books & resources that we recommend as tools for developing a habit of daily prayer and time in the Scriptures. We intentionally keep this list very short. Feel free to give us some suggestions or to contact us if you would like more recommendations. Thanks.
***Please note: if you buy a book through one of our links to Amazon.com, The Trinity Mission will receive a portion of your purchase price at no additional cost to you. More about that here.
Getting Started with the Daily Office in the Household
A Prayer Guide for Individuals and Families
by The Trinity Mission
A clear and practical guide for people who are looking to begin praying regularly in the historical manner of Christian prayer.
Fr. Michael Jarrett walks the reader through the “how” and “why” of every part of the Daily Office prayer services in a very casual manner helping the reader to see that “formal” prayer does not have to be cold, rigid, or dull in order to be respectful and formative for the soul. Additionally, an entire section is devoted to praying as a family with children.
Included is a liturgy for Morning Prayer, Mid-Day Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline for each day of the week.
The Way of Christ
An interpretation of the Rule of St. Benedict for people with jobs and families in the modern world
by The Trinity Mission
Part of the genius of Benedict’s rule was the specificity of how to live life combined with the generosity of his approach – essentially, “do it like this… but if that doesn’t work then do something else.”
Fr. Michael has been seeking to live in accordance with Benedict’s rule and training others to do so for nearly 20 years. The Way of Christ is the culmination of over a decade of conversations with parents, business owners, pastors, missionaries, and many other sorts of everyday people who have been actually trying to live out the life described here. It is not simply “a good idea” but is a good idea that has been tested, revised, and retested in the realm of real life with real people who have jobs and families.
More importantly, perhaps, The Way of Christ is a clear and concise description of how to follow Jesus Christ today in a way that is consistent with how Christians have lived, worshiped, and believed around the world and for 2000 years.
If you have asked, “what does it look like to live out the ancient ways of following Christ in the modern world,” or simply, “how do I raise my kids to live an historically Christian life,” then you will love the guidance that this little booklet provides.
Beginning To Pray
by Anthony Bloom
This is certainly the best book on prayer that you’ve probably never heard of and one of the best books there is on the subject. It’s a yearly reader. But, although it is written for beginners (as the name suggests), it is not an easy book. In our fast, active, chatty worlds, this book will stretch you in ways that are terribly uncomfortable. The Introduction alone, which is an interview with Metropolitan Anthony, is far richer, deeper, and moving toward the Gospel of Christ than most every other book that has been written in the past few years combined.
From Amazon.com
ANTHONY BLOOM – son of a Russian diplomat, physician, monk and archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain – earned the respect and affection of countless people worldwide because of his deep humanity and tireless witness to the Gospel. Although he died in 2003 at the age of 89, he continues to offer guidance in the spiritual life through his writings.
The Rule of St. Benedict
by Benedict of Nursia
Benedict begins what he calls his “little rule written for beginners” by saying, “This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord.”
This very short book is historically foundational for the prayer life of every western Christian. So much of our life would far more greatly glorify our Savior if we were able to have even one conversation salted with as much Holy Scripture as any randomly chosen paragraph from Benedict’s rule.
Even normal, everyday folks who aren’t planning on becoming monks (most of us here) will find that most of what Benedict discusses is valuable in our un-monk, work-a-day lives.
From Amazon.com
For fifteen centuries Benedictine monasticism has been governed by a Rule that is at once strong enough to instill order and yet flexible enough to have relevance fifteen hundred years later.