10 Books on Spiritual Disciplines to Shape Your Faith in the New Year
- Amber Thiessen
- 52 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Have you started thinking about goals for the new year? Or perhaps you’ve taken some time to look back—considering what worked, what didn’t, and what you’re carrying forward.
The Christian faith is a pursuit, but not a frantic one. It’s a steady turning toward deeper knowledge of God and a growing understanding of ourselves, allowing those beliefs to shape our hearts and our actions over time. When I look back on the past year, I can easily see my weaknesses and the places I’ve fallen short. Yet I’m deeply grateful that the grace of the gospel meets us there. God’s mercy does not leave us stuck, nor does it allow us to settle where we are. Instead, He invites us—day after day—into confession, repentance, and forgiveness. As Scripture reminds us, “we are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).
What a steady and beautiful hope that is.
One practice I’ve found especially helpful, particularly in areas where I’m prone to distraction or discouragement, is reading carefully chosen books alongside my Bible reading and study. When I focus on a particular theme, it helps bring clarity to practices and habits that keep me growing. What we give our attention to quietly shapes us.
That’s one reason I return again and again to books on the spiritual disciplines. In an age marked by hurry and distraction, these practices help train our attention toward God through ordinary, faithful rhythms. As you look ahead to the new year and consider where you’d like to grow, here are ten books to help you discern what’s worth putting on your shelf.
And I’d love to hear from you, too—if there’s a book on spiritual disciplines that has shaped your faith, feel free to share it in the comments. Happy reading!
Often books about spiritual disciplines are very practical and how-to. While we definitely need tangible steps to move forward, this book includes these, but reflects more on who we are and the challenges we face as Christians who want to grow in maturity. The three areas he discusses are our attention, our emotions and our limits.
This book is for the Christian who wants to grow in maturity, yes that means becoming more disciplined but you'll find practical ways to do just that. Definitely a resource to help you consider habits and goals for the coming year.
If you enjoy journaling, this guided journal may be a good fit for you. Sacred Markings begins with a “Grand Examen,” inviting you to step back and reflect on your life as a whole. Along the way, you’re guided by Scripture and thoughtful reflections from theologians such as John Calvin, C. S. Lewis, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
These readings lead you into journaling on themes like identity, vocation, mission, community, and the values and habits that shape your days. From there, the journal gently transitions into a practice of seasonal review, encouraging reflection at the end of each quarter. The final section includes bullet-journal style pages designed for ongoing, daily reflections.
This journal is especially well suited for those who appreciate structured reflection and want their journaling practice to be shaped by historic Christian voices, rather than open-ended prompts alone.
Overall, Sacred Markings offers a thoughtful, theologically rooted framework for those who want their journaling to be a practice of spiritual formation, not just reflection.
Whether you like to set goals for the year or prefer smaller chunks like month by month, let’s face it, we won’t accomplish a task if we don’t plan to do it. Developing habits requires our time and effort. Whether it’s a checklist, a progress tracker, a group collectively working together, there are many ways to instill habits into our life, if we take them time to practice them and use the tools that will work well for us.
This book takes you through 4 parts-Word, Prayer, Fellowship and CODA-to explore what Scripture teaches us about living a life joyful life devoted to God.
She invites us to deepen our delight in Christ by practicing rhythms that draw our hearts and minds toward Him. While spiritual disciplines may not be a new concept for many, this book offers insights that encourage us to reflect on how we’re currently walking in grace and obedience—and how we can continue to grow in the year ahead, particularly when we're weary, burdened and notice a longing to restore our joy again. If that's you, you might want to check it out!
If you find reading your bible tough and don't really know where to start, this is a great resource for you! It's short in length and provides you with introductory knowledge and a practical approach to reading your Bible to gain a better understanding of God’s word. After every chapter, there’s an exercise to apply the principles to a passage with a few questions. He addresses principles of theme, meaning and context, as well as common mistakes we make in interpretation. If you're discipline new believers, or your teens this would also be a good place ot start.
I love that she wrote this book because she couldn’t stop telling people how memorizing the Word changed her life. And isn't it awesome to know it can do the same for each of us!
Her easygoing style invites you to indulge in a spiritual discipline that’s recognized as important but probably less practiced. She gives us a comprehensive look at why we memorize and also how-to. Each chapter ends with a memorization tip and some suggested passages for memorizing. You’ll also find a great collection of resources for scripture memory as an appendix at the end, including apps, music, cards and more.
Let God's Word change your life this year!
Whether a Bible reading habit is really new or an old familiar habit, this book is a refreshing pause. My own time in the Word had slowly slipped into a droll routine—a checklist to get through rather than an invitation to commune with the living God. These heart postures helped me pause, reset, and recover a sense of awe at what it really means to open Scripture.
Instead of rushing past the pages, I was reminded to come with expectancy, humility, and joy. This little book nudged me out of autopilot and invited me to thoughtfully consider not just that I read the Bible, but how I approach it—heart, mind, and soul prepared to meet with God Himself. This is a short book, easily accessible for any reader.
If you're looking to grow in the area of studying Scripture, this one is for you! In three parts, she teaches the value of studying Scripture, exploring how the Holy Spirit and the discipline of prayer support us in this journey and provides a practical guide to studying the Bible inductively. Throughout, she shares relatable stories from her cross-cultural experiences as a missionary kid in Thailand, enriching her insights with personal examples. I really enjoyed this, and if you're new to inductive study this is a great place to start!
As I've gone through this book, I've been blessed, encouraged and humbled. These prayers are rich in scripture and theology, and when I pray them, I’m drawn to worship God and invite the work of the Spirit in my life.
When I've not known what words to offer, these prayers express truth with emotion and passion, helping me fix my eyes on the goodness and justice of God. There’s also no rushing through them, because the words bid you to stop a minute and take it all in.
If you’re looking for a prayer resource, something to draw you to pray more frequently and intentionally, I would recommend this one. It will guide your time in reflection of God’s Word and help you pause to meditate on His character.
I read this book years ago and it's often not far from my mind. In 5 chapters he defines this spiritual discipline, explains why it's necessary and how we practice it. He writes, "neglect watchfulness and you will hinder other spiritual practices. Watchfulness is the whetstone of the spiritual disciplines, the one practice that keeps the other habits sharp." Grab this one to learn what it means to guard your heart.
Bonus: For Those Who Want to Go A Little Deeper
In A Heart Aflame for God, he invites readers to rediscover what it really means to pursue spiritual growth—not by chasing the latest trend but by leaning into the rich, biblical practices of the Reformed tradition.
He reminds us that the depth of spiritual life we often long for isn’t found in something new or flashy but in faithfully “keeping the heart,” as the Puritans called it. Through practices like prayer, meditation, and self-examination, Bingham points us back to the simple yet profound work of tending our hearts before the Lord, showing that this is truly “the most important business of a Christian’s life.”
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