[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Harvest House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary and Review
This is a 31-day journey broken into three “acts” designed to help readers discern the voice of God and the move and prompting of the Holy Spirit. The first act helps the reader get in the proper position and mindset to hear from God. It also outlines ways God speaks. The next two sections dig into potential obstacles and take a deeper look at the topic. The book leans towards the charismatic in its approach to the work and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Each day includes a teaching section, a challenge/response, a prayer, and a journaling prompt. Sometimes the response is to dig into a passage of scripture. In those cases, the journaling prompts follow a Bible study pattern that readers could then apply to their study outside this book, which I thought was a great idea. The tone of the writing is conversational, like meeting a mentor over coffee. The author includes anecdotes which are engaging and applicable to the material. Some were downright inspiring.
Personally, there were a few small things that were jarring for me as I read through this. The author has chosen to use “Holy Spirit” as a proper name, like you would Jesus or God, dropping “the” in 90% of her usage. Her rationale for this makes sense, but every time, it pushed me out of the flow of the writing. Another stylistic choice was calling the challenge or response sections “hearing aids.” It’s a clever play on words, and will work for some readers, but it may not for others. I am not part of the community of disabled individuals, so I can’t speak to how the hearing impaired might read this terminology. Finally, there were occasional moments where the author comes off flippant or sarcastic in a way that was more abrasive than amusing. For full transparency, I did not read this in pieces over 31 days like the author intends. So it is quite possible that in smaller doses, these things would not have been as obvious.
Earlier this year I read Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer. Similar intent, but a very different delivery. The nonfiction prose approach, and my affinity for the author already, was a great fit for me. If I was to make a recommendation for a resource for learning to listen to and hear from God, that would be my first choice. But, for readers who prefer a devotional approach, this could be a good resource for that journey as well.
Rating: ♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥=Good/solid/fine