Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love

by Thomas Acklin, Boniface Hicks

Prayer is at the heart of the Christian life. Given that we are weak and even sinful human beings, how can it be that God has anything to do with us? What does it mean to have a personal relationship with God? Why is God so silent and hidden? How do we grow in prayer? Personal A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love brings the depth of human experience together with the Catholic tradition of prayer to present the path to an intimate and vulnerable relationship with God. Experienced spiritual directors Fr. Thomas Acklin, OSB, and Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB, explore the many forms of Catholic prayer and demonstrate that vulnerability is essential to growing in relationship with God. Rich with the wisdom of Scripture, Catholic teaching, and the writings of the saints, Personal Prayer is an exhaustive guide for priests, religious, and laity desiring to receive the Father’s love in a profoundly personal way.

Genres: Faith, Catholic, Spirituality, Religion, Nonfiction, Prayer, Christianity

364 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 9, 2020

Reviews

[Dani Noll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite book that I've read on prayer thus far!

[Annaliese Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

My missionary gave me this book in college, but I didn’t pick it up until the end of this year and I’m so glad I did. It has reminded me of the simplicity of prayer, that it’s a place of greater union with God where we show our love for Him, but ultimately receive His love for us that is far greater! Everyone should read if they have the chance!

“This is the reason for evangelization, that as God shares that love with each person, the response of love includes a sharing that awakens that love in others as well.”

[Cecilia Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is bold but I think this is best book on prayer. Hands down my favorite book I’ve ever read on prayer and I want everyone I know to read this book. Father Boniface and Father Thomas describe the experience of prayer so well that as I read it I found myself continually freaking out as they put into words what I have never been able to and in away that is unique among other books on prayer. Ask me about this if you wanna know more because I could talk for hours

[Kalee Probasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the smallest and the biggest ways, I feel my prayer life has blossomed after reading this. Sometimes we need to hear things we already know again. Sometimes we need to hear things we didn’t really think about. It was a lovely read.

Also give me spiritual book recs!

[Sarah Winslow · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good! To be read again... Lots about how prayer is human and vulnerable.

[Eva]

Some chapters were amazing and some felt a bit flat, or like they were trying to be “relatable” in a way that will quickly feel dated. But great insights and great selection of quotes overall!

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outside Laird's prayer trilogy, this is one of the best (and most complete) books on prayer I've ever read. It is overtly Catholic, but I appreciated tremendously the articulate and clear overview of contemplative prayer and how prayer transforms us. There aren't too many books I've read on prayer that are able to capture the reality of how a life of prayer largely leads to disorientation that eventually, slowly, but intentionally leads to becoming like Him. Also, the chapter on poverty is pure gold. Well worth the read.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just excellent. One of the most thorough books I’ve read on the entire process of prayer—from how-tos and what-is-it to the range of experiences possible. Anyone, at any stage in his or her relationship with Christ, will come away with a deeper desire and understanding of prayer. This is a dense book but not unattainable! I think it would be a superb gift to someone receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation in high school, too. I may just start back at the beginning again now…

[Katie Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD. A beautiful summation of everything you need to know about the faith. Very practical tips about prayer and other topics. Truly beneficial in receiving the love of the Father and knowing your identity.

[Diego Estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Gran libro! Demasiado rico… Muy práctico y no se extiende más de lo que debe. Necesitamos ser vulnerables si pretendemos tener una relación profunda con Dios. No hay otra manera.

Aparte te da demasiadas fuentes y referencias para seguir creciendo en la vida espiritual.

[Elizabeth Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite spiritual book of all time. I love it and return to it often. On a sentimental note, this is the book I brought to hidden lake for spiritual reading as a summer staffer <3

[Mendo Ataíde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on personal prayer. Starting through the lens of the human experience of relationships and conversations, it touches most fundamental aspects of prayer, such as different types of prayer and the attitude of the one who prays. Presents specific forms of prayer such as adoration, the Jesus prayer and Lectio Divina and some other experiences that you don’t usually see treated in books about prayer, such as charismatic prayer and prophecy. All drawing from great sources of the magisterium and saints, the book is rock solid and you feel it was written by people who really pray. Don’t get demotivated by its size or if you don’t see yourself moving along fast - like it happened to me when I first got a hand on it - for ir really is a treasure worth meditating upon.

[Kate Chiappetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t had a spiritual read this good in a long time! There is something special about this one- a way that I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate in any other time of my life and that evokes the same emotions and fears that I’ve had during every other unknown time period in a more mature and surrendering way.

I just love finishing a book I’ve been inching through!!!!!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on prayer.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I really enjoyed this book for the first 60% and maybe it’s because I took so long to read it, but it later half was okay. But I was definitely obsessed with it when I first started reading it. Some really good nugs of inspo in it!!

[Emily Baugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second time around was even more profound. Such a good reminder of the simplicity and depth of prayer.

[Kelvin Gothman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The is the best book on prayer. I just finished it for the 4th time. Check it out!

[Audrey Monahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fr. Boniface Hicks provides an excellent overview on how to grow in relationship with God through prayer. The thesis of the book can be summarized as follows: “there is no limit to how deep our relationship can be with Him; it is limited only by our own willingness to trust Him and be vulnerable with Him.”

Throughout the book, Fr. BH encourages approaching prayer with a spirit of self-forgetfulness, humility, vulnerability, openness to silence, simplicity, and love. It contains quotes from a wide variety of Saints, the Bible, the Catechism, and more. I also appreciate that it seamlessly melds Eastern and Western spirituality.

This book is excellent for anyone who struggles with scrupulosity and perfectionism in their spiritual life. It answers so many common questions about struggles encountered during prayer — I wish I read this years ago! It is written in a modern way with an emphasis on human psychology and analogizes our relationship with God as human relationships in a very helpful manner.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good introduction to prayer or wants a refresher on the disposition we should be approaching our Lord with.

[Yenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know if I am capable in writing a proper review for this book, but it is very rich. I enjoyed listening to Fr. Boniface Hicks on YT, and this book was recommended by Beth Davis from BIS countless times. The writing felt like conversations, as if I have these two authors in front of me, letting me know these spiritual gems they have found and often times made me realize that I have those gems of my own, but they gave me those words.

The way this book is structured makes it a bit hard for me to recall where have I outlined/highlighted the points, but maybe that’s because I am so used to digital books by now, and I own the physical book for this one. Oh well, it is only by the end of the book I realized this is a sequel book to their first “Spiritual Direction”. Looking by the time I took to finish this, perhaps somewhere in the future I will purchase and read it too.

[G. Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my companion for about two and half months and a constant source of comfort and guidance, especially during Lent. Fathers Hicks & Acklin have written here a meditation on prayer that reaches profound depths. Reading the book often felt like engaging in prayer all on its own, even in the midst of teasing out aspects to the act of prayer that I am sure most people have never been taught or considered. Yet the book’s voice remained more pastoral and never allowed its well-studied and heavily cited underpinnings to overwhelm the reader.

I highly recommend this to anyone seeking to improve and grow their prayer life. I will surely certainly refer back to this book and contemplate its chapters further in the years to come.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw one of the authors speak at a retreat and bought this book. Later, when discussing my progress in prayer with my spiritual director, she recommended this book to me! This book was an excellent book for my situation, as it put into words much of what I was experiencing in prayer and re-assured me that I was on the right track. However, this isn’t necessarily a book for a beginner in prayer because you may not know, or be able to relate to, what the author is talking about. If you are a beginner and this books is confusing I would recommend setting it aside for later as you advance in your prayer life…you will be glad you had it to return to.

[Joseph Serwach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, powerful book you should read

God, the essence of a relationship all by himself, relates: He's Father, Son, and a Holy Spirit of pure love, truth, and beauty itself. So we must empty ourselves to be filled by Him. We must grow silent to notice His gifts.
You know how babies - or puppies - melt your heart - but did you realize you will forever seem like a little child to your Creator? St. John of the Cross argued everything God ever created or said began with one Word, one most often spoken through silence.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to dive deeper into intimacy with Jesus. My heart was so moved by the wisdom that the authors of the book expressed. It includes a framework to understand building a personal relationship with God along with practical advice that fills the heart with a recognition of God's love for each of us. My heart is burning more to grow closer to God than ever before. I pray God gives me the grace to do it.

[John Culcasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good overview on prayer, traditions/devotions in prayer, and various approaches and practices. The book really helped paint the picture on the beauty and mystery of prayer, and portrayed the emotion and movement of the soul behind prayer. The book probably could have been written in a more succinct way and still delivered the same message, but Fr. Boniface was a bit long winded and overly sentimental at times - which probably added 50 pages to the book. Overall, would recommend.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent, rich and deep spiritual read. I especially appreciated the authors' integration of the psychological component within the spiritual life; it was a very holistic approach to contemplative prayer. It's the sort of book I think I will return to multiple times in order to unpack it's depth. Highly recommend as a book to enlighten your spiritual life.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some sections of this book that are truly excellent, and the authors do have some really good incites into developing a prayer life. However the book, on the whole, could have been paired down to half the length and accomplished the same thing as it was, at times, redundant. I guess it just wasn't the practical, applicable advice on prayers that I had hoped for.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book! This book really helped me grow a deeper understanding of God’s silence in prayer and my own silence. I also love that the author’s write about Catholics as charismatic. They pull church teaching to show the history of our charismatic roots. If you want to grow in prayer and in your relationship with God, this is the book for you!

[Madyson Hamling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly one of the best books I’ve read on prayer!

Such beauty on our call to continually be vulnerable with the Lord, which allows for us to enter more into the sacraments and the gift of the church he’s given us! He ties all things back to our call to be one with Christ ᵕ̈

[Catherine E. Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prayer and Psychology 101

This is an interesting approach to prayer based on the basic concept of personal mental development. Not very inspiring just practical advice.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book of practical spirituality I have read.