Hearing God

Back in May, I finished reading Hearing God by Dallas Willard, and I loved it. And now, only 2 months later, I'm reviewing it! It was a great reminder about a lot of what I've learned, and it shored up some doubts and misconceptions I've accumulated.

Some of the points I really appreciated:

Willard pointed out "we must enter into our study of it [the Bible] on the assumption that the experiences recorded there are basically of the same type as ours would have been if we had been there (p. 35)." Without that assumption, the Bible stories can taunt us with their false promise of miraculous communion with God. Or worse, we brush over those stories and the Bible becomes a book of doctrine. "We must make the conscious effort to think that such things might happen to us and imagine what it would be like (p. 90)."

Willard argues that when God communicates to us "subjectively" it's most commonly through "our own spirits, thoughts and feelings (p. 96-100)." He believes this way God can redeems us more, because "it most engages the faculties of free, intelligent beings involved in the work of God as his colaborers and friends." I felt encouraged but still hesitant to believe that idea wholeheartedly. Sometimes I feel we've shut out God's voice through the miraculous, so he can only communicate to us through the mundane. Any thoughts?

"God created, God rules, and God redeems through his word... Through our words we literally give to others a piece of our mind... Through words, soul impacts soul, sometimes with a great spiritual force (p. 118-119)." I enjoyed his discussions of Jesus and the Bible as God's Word, and also the way our words affect God's Kingdom and one another.

It dragged a little sometimes. The chapter "Our Communicating Cosmos" felt like a shallow introduction into several big questions - whether God would, could, or should communicate with us.

I loved some of the simple encouragements to deepen your conversation with the Lord, like meditating on Scripture, paying attention to what's happening in our lives and hearts, taking everything before God, and listening intentionally and carefully.

Finally, it rang true with me that God's communication is more about living life with us, not giving us infallible guidance. I need that to be my purpose in more of my prayers.