Connecting with God: A Spiritual Formation Guide

This Spiritual Formation Bible Study exceeded my expectation for this type of Bible study. My Bible study group feedback was 100% favorable.

For those of you who want to get in touch with God, this is the book for you. If you are tired of people telling you to just pray more, but prayer does not seem to get you tuned into God, then this book is for you. This book explores twelve avenues of communing with Almighty One: "living with God, prayer, Bible study, the creation, other people, circumstances, silence, dreams and visions, sensing God's presence, encountering his messengers (angels), wrestling with God, and finally walking with God." (pp. 1) Although the author gives you the option to study it on your own, it is better designed for a small group study. Each chapter contains a devotional reading, a homework assignment to be done before the next group meeting (My Life with God Exercise), a scripture reading, an author's commentary on the scripture, (Getting the Picture, Going Deeper, Pointing to God, Going Forward), a closing prayer, and additional in depth questions (Taking it Further). The author uses not only scriptures to illustrate points, but also more "contemporary" examples, such as from Saint Francis of Assisi, Billy Graham, Brennan Manning, and Corrie Ten Boom. Questions are italics in-between each section for group discussion. Notes on the side guide the group leader, right down to when to ask a different member to read the next section aloud. Although not directly stated but strongly implied in the discussion questions, the author suggests that no one way is better than another in connecting with God. This book opens the possibilities of connecting with God in different ways.