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Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God
"God spoke to me.""The Spirit spoke to my heart.""God revealed the idea to me."Being close to God means communicating with him--telling him what is on our hearts in prayer and hearing and understanding what he is saying to us. It is this second half of our conversation with God that is so important but that can also be so difficult. How do we ...more
Paperback, 228 pages
Published
November 28th 1999
by IVP Books
(first published 1993)
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Hearing God
Developing a Conversational Relationship with God
Dallas Willard
InterVarsity, 1999, 228 pp, ISBN 9780830822263
First published in 1993 as In Search of Guidance, this book provides a biblical and experiential understanding that clarifies what it means to live in an ongoing conversational relationship with God. Hearing God relates to a whole life in the will of God, including who God wants us to be as well as what he wants us ...more
Developing a Conversational Relationship with God
Dallas Willard
InterVarsity, 1999, 228 pp, ISBN 9780830822263
First published in 1993 as In Search of Guidance, this book provides a biblical and experiential understanding that clarifies what it means to live in an ongoing conversational relationship with God. Hearing God relates to a whole life in the will of God, including who God wants us to be as well as what he wants us ...more
I positively adore this book. It is written in a simple, plain style that anyone can read and understand, but it is best read slowly, as a topic of this magnitude is no small undertaking. The author takes on some controversial topics but deals with them in a gentle and logical manner; for example, the misconception that a life guided by God is easy or risk-free, or that divine guidance means were are singled out to be special. He plainly says that anyone can develop a conversational with God, an...more
Short review: This is a classic book on hearing God. And I think it will be reading in another 25 years as well. There are others books that tread the same ground. And some of them are about as good. The strength of Willard is his grounding in historical Christianity, his strong biblical and theological understanding and his awareness that no one will ever really fully understand God. So he is humble in his presentation, not because he is unsure, but because he knows that we are fallen.
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I really wanted to like this book, but went away disappointed. I wasn't satisfied with the way he expressed the role of Scripture as the Word of God, although he claims in the book itself to have laid emphasis on it. He definitely speak about it, but I don't think it was expressed in the proper order or with the proper emphasis. He also comes at the subject with a very strong view of man's autonomy which I didn't appreciate. He said a lot of true things, but none of it struck me as particularly ...more
I just read chapter 5 of this book. I often read books "jumpy" like this, but I really liked what Willard had to say. First off, he acknowledges that we are silly to imply God only speaks through his word now that we have the bible. This is something I strongly agree with. God has proven to talk to his followers all throughout the word and does not ever state that He no longer will talk to us directly. That is something we have implied.
He addresses the maturity that is required b...more
He addresses the maturity that is required b...more
Dallas Willard's book, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God, has the most practical, wise and biblically sound reading I have ever done on the subject of divine guidance. It's a book worth reading over and again for those who wrestle with the problems of how God communicates with us personally: Is it presumptuous to think that God would want to communicate with us directly? Isn't the Bible an entirely sufficient revelation of God's will for any and all Christians? What ...more
Despite the fact that this book took some time to absorb, I think the author did an amazing job at laying a foundation and then expounding upon the subject of communication with the Divine. The book begins by explaining that in order to communicate with God you must have an accurate understanding of His character. It includes a chapter of explanation for those who cannot believe that such communication is possible. The author uses both scriptural examples and personal testimonials to show tha...more
I have found it to be a book full of good thoughts and strong ideas. I have also found it to abound in his beliefs, which he sets against other beliefs (such as mine) or which he doesn’t even seem to realize might not be universal.
For example, on page 152 he quotes Eph. 5:25-27. “…just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain o...more
For example, on page 152 he quotes Eph. 5:25-27. “…just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain o...more
This was a perhaps too-timely read for me. I started reading it in November, and finished in January--reading it throughout my most confused months of discernment/decision making after returning from South Africa. It did seem a little too obvious to read a book titled "In Search of Guidance" during this time.
I knew from the outset that reading this book wasn't going to answer all my questions or give me some sort of formula that if followed would yield instructions on exact...more
I knew from the outset that reading this book wasn't going to answer all my questions or give me some sort of formula that if followed would yield instructions on exact...more
Eminently readable, practical, and profound, this book has the potential to change Christ's people individually and collectively if it were more widely read and integrated into ourselves.
Because what Willard has laid out here is so compelling, there are some areas I wish he would delve into further, as well as a couple of minor quibbles. I would have benefited from more on the voice of Satan, especially as The Accuser; and on the apparent silence of God, particularly as it relates t...more
Because what Willard has laid out here is so compelling, there are some areas I wish he would delve into further, as well as a couple of minor quibbles. I would have benefited from more on the voice of Satan, especially as The Accuser; and on the apparent silence of God, particularly as it relates t...more
Willard...you are brilliant. Having come from the Southern Baptist background, I'm still trying to reconcile how you could be one.
Anyways, about the book. Willard humbly, and accurately addressed the issue of God speaking to man. The only complaint I have is that its almost too comprehensive. I found myself thinking "ok i get it, move on."
But really overall an important read!
Anyways, about the book. Willard humbly, and accurately addressed the issue of God speaking to man. The only complaint I have is that its almost too comprehensive. I found myself thinking "ok i get it, move on."
But really overall an important read!
During the decision making months regarding the Cleveland Clinic position for Dan, I read this book every day. Again, as with most books dealing with our spiritual journey with God, it is a book to be read over and over in bits and pieces. Interestingly, the author is a professor of philosophy. I highly recommend the book for slow digesting.
Not Willard's best book-but it's hard to go wrong. Willard is a profound thinker and he's always worth a re-read. I probably should have given him 4 stars, at least, for this...but his other books are better. Give a read to this one--and don't let my 3 stars dissuade you. (Only my preferred books get 5!)
This is an interesting book, but a not written in an easy flowing manner. It felt like he was jumping around a lot, so I did too. I skimmed enough to call it good. I think I will try his book "The Divine Conspiracy", but if it's written in the same hodge podge manner, I'll skim it as well.
Rec. by Scripture Union blog. "How specifically does God speak to us through the words of Scripture, or through any other means for that matter? This book is the best answer to that important question that I've ever found, by one of the great spiritual writers of our day."
This book was thoughtful, erudite, and, in tone, unendingly kind. It was also very helpful to me in my prayer life. I'd recommend it to anyone who is seriously seeking to hear God's voice and to live his or her life according to God's will.
I read this for a Summer Book Study while we were in San Diego. I found it to be a very slow read and only finished it for the study group. The last chapter was great and saved the book for me.
I've been a big fan of Dallas Willard's for awhile now and he didn't disappoint me with this book. His books are often a meaty read, and while the message of the book boiled down to the somewhat obvious idea that in order to hear God you must first be in relationship with God, this one similarly delved deeper into this topic than just this simple statement. His analogies were helpful, reminding me that it would be difficult to recognize the voice of someone who is stranger to me, whose method a...more
The most thoughtful and searching book I have read on hearing God's voice. A must read!
Laura Holland
added it
I felt like I was reading a doctoral thesis - very deep, but good.
Over the years I've heard people talk about how God "spoke to them," and often it's been hard to connect with their experiences and the ways they communicate them. This book helped me feel "normal"--meaning that hearing God doesn't have to be spooky or something to be talked about in hushed tones and "spiritual" language. And God actually wants to communicate in ways that I will understand--imagine that! Willard's approach is practical, well thought out, and challen...more
you can hear the voice of God if you are listening
this is one of my favorite books!
OK
In a time where people abuse the phrase,"God told me..." this book provies a healthy view of a rich authentic conversational relationship with God. It has help me out a lot as a minister. Several people have come to me craving intimate contact with God and I have been able to guide them to this book. It is real and reasonable and very readable. I can't say it is Willards best written books but still a great read.
Dr. Carol Brown
added it
Hearing God helps the reader slow the pace of his or her life so that the voice of God can be heard. The secret of this lies in the condition of one's heart. To hear God, a person must let go of all the noisy positions, desires, and fears that control our soul and emotions. This is a wonderful book that will help every Christian believer become more decisive in knowing God's will in personal situations.
I learned that you can hear God easily when you are in relationship with Him as you live day to day. That takes one-on-one time, and just recognizing His hand in all things.
This book took time to get into, but it proved to have valuable insight into practical principles for developing a conversational relationship with God - meaning, a two-way sort of communication. I think reading Willard's Divine Conspiracy first would be helpful because that book sets forth Willard's framework of life in God.
I'm only 40 pages in but this book is FANTASTIC. Willard's philosophical background is apparent as he builds a logical, reasoned "argument" for a conversational relationship with God. I've never heard it explained so well. Highly recommended... (unless I get to the end and find out that he's crazy... but it's pretty unlikely...)
I'm so close to being done that I think I'll just write a review now.
This book is worth the time! It's not a complex book, but I've found Willard's style to be more dense than some. You won't get much out of the book without putting in some time and taking it slowly. But if you do take the time, it is well worth it.
This book is worth the time! It's not a complex book, but I've found Willard's style to be more dense than some. You won't get much out of the book without putting in some time and taking it slowly. But if you do take the time, it is well worth it.
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DALLAS WILLARD is a Professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He has taught at USC since 1965, where he was Director of the School of Philosophy from 1982-1985. He has also taught at the University of Wisconsin (Madison, 1960-1965), and has held visiting appointments at UCLA (1969) and the University of Colorado (1984).
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“We live in a culture that has, for centuries now, cultivated the idea that the skeptical person is always smarter than one who believes. You can almost be as stupid as a cabbage as long as you doubt.”
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