Recently, several people asked me for a list of books on spiritual direction. I didn’t feel I’d read enough of these to provide much of a list. However, many books on spiritual formation touch on this and have much else that is helpful to growing in our love for God and more fully reflecting his intentions for us. Since this is a “day apart” for many of us (for others Friday, Saturday, or a different day), I thought I might post a list of the books I’ve reviewed over the past couple years in the area of spiritual formation. They are in order from most recent to earliest, with links to my reviews.

1. The Rule of St Benedict. Classic little book describing the ordering of monastic life.
2. Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction. Margaret Guenther describes her own practice of spiritual direction.
3. Discovering Lectio Divina: Bringing Scripture Into Ordinary Life. Howard and Wilhoit give practical instruction in this ancient practice of meditative reading that traces back to the Benedictines.
4. The Life of the Body: Physical Well-Being and Spiritual Formation. Hess and Arnold talk about the link between the care of our bodies and our spiritual life.
5. The Third Third of Life: Preparing for Your Future. This book explores how we position ourselves to finish well the final leg of our lives.
6. Lord, Teach Us to Pray. This is a little gem of a book of Andrew Murray’s reflections on four passages on prayer.
7. Green Leaves for Later Years. Another book on spirituality in the later years of life, one my wife and I both enjoyed!
8. Spiritual Rhythms in Community. This book explores how spiritual formation can occur in a group context.
9. The Return of the Prodigal. Henri Nouwen’s wonderful treatment of the parable of the lost sons inspired by Rembrandt’s painting of the Return of the Prodigal.
10. The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith. Hagberg and Guelich consider our growth in faith as a progressive journey with identifiable stages.
11. Pursuing God’s Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups. Explores how can leadership rise out of our habits of spiritual formation, where our decisions are spiritual discerned.
12. A Traveler’s Guide to the Kingdom. James Emory White links descriptions of various places to which he has traveled with various aspects of the Christian life. A travelogue for the journey.
13. Kneeling with the Giants. Explores prayer through the example of ten saints.
14. The Enneagram in Love and Work. A good introduction to the Enneagram, a tool that works by identifying one’s cardinal sin. This book focuses particularly on our love and work relationships.
15. True Self, False Self: Unmasking the Spirit Within. True self, false self is an important concept in spiritual formation work–the false self being defined as what we have or do, the true self, who we are as God’s beloved.
16. The Contemplative Pastor, Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction. Classic Eugene Peterson writing to pastors about this important aspect of their work.
17. The Fire of the Word: Meeting God on Holy Ground. This book focuses on our practices of reading scripture and not just reading a text but encountering the living God in the words of scripture.
18. Seasons of the Soul: Stages of Spiritual Development. Another book on stages of spiritual life, simplifying this to three: orientation, disorientation, reorientation.
19. The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery. David Benner’s book gives what I think is the best account of true self/false self.
20. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry. Ruth Haley Barton uses the life of Moses to explore the spiritual formation life of leaders.

Well there’s twenty books! I don’t necessarily consider these the best 20 books on spiritual formation, simply those I’ve reviewed in the last couple years. Are there books on this topic that you’ve found helpful? I’d love to hear of these!