Table Charismata Matters

Monday, March 13, 2017

Recommended Devotional Material


Someone asked me what devotional material I recommend. I'm no authority on the subject but I gave some recommendations off the top of my head. Most of them were freely available online. I didn't want to lose the collection of links and realized it would make a good blogpost. So, I've posted my response below (with minor editing).

It would depend on your taste. I myself don't limit myself to Calvinistic literature [The person who asked is a Calvinist like myself, but may not also be a continuationist-AP]. But if you're looking for Reformed [i.e. Calvinistic] stuff, I hear [The] Valley of Vision is good. One can never go wrong with Spurgeon's Morning and Evening along with his 'Checkbook of Faith" (AKA Faith's Checkbook). Various websites have them for viewing or download (e.g. http://www.spurgeon.org/medit.php).

There are a lot of other Reformed devotional material at https://www.monergism.com/topics/prayer/devotional.

I would also recommend good books on prayer. For example, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND The Hidden Life of Prayer by David M'Intyre (last name spelled in various ways including "MacIntyre"). https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/hidden.html

I think there are 32 chapters in Andrew Murray's With Christ in the School of Prayer which can be accessed at www.ccel.org
Anything by Murray can be turned into a devotional like his "Abide in Christ".

I also recommend Curt Daniel's Prayer and the Sovereignty of God. http://www.faithbibleonline.net/prayer-and-the-sovereignty-of-god/ I'm not sure, but I think it's a transcript of one of his Calvinism lectures: https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/histtheocalvin.html

I would also recommend A.W. Pink's chapter on prayer and God's sovereignty in his classic book, The Sovereignty of God: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/pink/sovereignty.html

Almost anything by Thomas Watson can be turned into a devotional reading. For example, A Divine Cordial: http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/ipb-e/epl-10/web/watson-cordial.html
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/watson/cordial.html

Or his book The Art of Divine Contentment.
http://grace-ebooks.com/library/Thomas%20Watson/TW_The%20Art%20of%20Divine%20Contentment.pdf

or https://www.ccel.org/ccel/watson/contentment.html

Speaking of contentment, Jeremiah Burroughs' Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment is also good: https://www.preachtheword.com/bookstore/contentment.pdf

When it comes to non-Calvinistic books on prayer, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND A.B. Simpson's The Life of Prayer. I so recommend it, I posted a copy of the book on one of my blogs here:
http://charismatamatters.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-life-of-prayer-by-absimpson.html

Also, A.B. Simpson's daily devotional Days of Heaven on Earth which is freely online too (e.g. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28416, or https://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/simpson).

Arminian R.A. Torrey's book How To Pray is a classic. Many websites have it like: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/torrey/pray.html

In the Catholic tradition, I recommend Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kempis/imitation.html

Martin Luther recommended Theologia Germanica: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/anonymous/theologia.html

Arminian A.W. Tozer's book The Knowledge of the Holy :http://www.heavendwellers.com/hdt_knowledge_of_the_holy.htm

Or The Pursuit of God :http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/tozer/5f00.0888/5f00.0888.c.htm
or http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25141/25141-h/25141-h.htm

Man the Dwelling Place of God:
http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/tozer/5j00.0010/5j00.0010.c.htm
or http://www.dailybread.com.au/e-books/AW_Tozer/Man%20-%20the%20Dwelling%20Place%20of%20God.pdf

Or E.M. Bound's books on prayer: http://charismatamatters.blogspot.com/2013/08/em-bounds-on-prayer.html

Reformed folk consider Charles Finney a Pelagian, I think he was either Semi-Pelagian or nearly non-Pelagian. I find some of stuff in Lectures on Revivals of Religion to be good. Spit out the bones, and eat the meat: http://www.gospeltruth.net/1868Lect_on_Rev_of_Rel/index68revlec.html

Finally, I recommend reading biographies of past Christians.

For example, George Mueller. A good beginning one is the one by Basil Miller.

Augustine's Confessions (I recommend the Rex Warner translation. Though, people have given high praise to Maria Boulding's translation as well as the one by F. J. Sheed) Your local library should have a copy of one of those translations.

I could recommend more, but those are off the top of my head.

For those who are Continuationists like myself, I would also recommend some of the books in my blogpost:


Recommended Resources on Divine Healing

 As I pointed out in that blogpost, some of the book recommendations are not on the topic of divine healing, but relate to it for some reason or another. For example, because they address the issue of prayer and/or faith. I also said in that blogpost that I don't necessarily agree with everything taught in any book I might recommend. When reading any book discernment is necessary. We all need to learn to spit out the bones and dine on the meat.