Walking with God: Talk to Him. Hear from Him. Really.

Reading the book Walking with God changed my life. I was someone who talked with God a lot; now I'm someone who talks with God more ~ and listens. And HEARS. And if you think hearing from the God of the universe, your all-loving, all-knowing Father, won't jumpstart your faith adventure, try reading this book. The book guided me through a little heart surgery that ~ voila ~ unplugged my ears. Now I'm going through the personal study guide with a group of friends to share the experience, firm up new heart habits, and grow together. The book and personal study guide do go hand in hand. Both are super-easy to read and relate to. They are not only about talking and listening to God, but also about healing, spiritual warfare, and joy. They are worth your time!

For me, a book is only as good as the expectations that I have on what the book is going to be about. With John's book, I expected it to be a book of his journal entry, which is the reason why I bought the book. It's not a "how to" book or a theological treatise. I'd like to share some of the things that stood out to me with this book... It was an absolute delight getting to know John. I had somehow felt privileged, like I was looking over his shoulder as he wrote in his journal. I enjoyed getting to know John's heart for God, and how he managed his thoughts and emotions on a daily basis. It fleshed out what his life and friendship with God really is. He was brutally transparent in sharing what everyone experiences but are not discerning enough to realize nor brave enough to share. John shared quite a bit about having "conversational intimacy" with God. As someone who taught against this concept for 20 years until 2 years ago, it was encouraging to hear someone's internal processing with how he listened to the Holy Spirit. This is a subject that has divided the Christian community with one side teaching that the Holy Spirit doesn't do that, while the other states that the He actually does. I wish that John would have shared that living a life of unforgiveness and being in bondage from the tormentor (Matt. 18:34-35, Eph.4:26-27, 2 Cor. 2:11-12, 1 Sam.18) is one of the biggest if not the biggest hindrances from hearing the Holy Spirit. He also covered something that everyone does, but hardly talks about, which is making agreements, or what I call making vows. Making agreements is when you say things like, "I will never..." due to whatever unrealized and unprocessed pain they have. I have thought about this in the past, and have even encouraged others against it, but John covers it in much more depth, and shares the danger it poses in one's deeper agreement, which is their service with our Dad in heaven. He also covered quite a bit about spiritual warfare that he experiences on a regular basis. He emphasizes that most people overlook this very crucial aspect of the Christian life. It was encouraging to me how discerning and aware he is of what's going on in the supernatural. I was personally challenged to have a heightened sense of awareness with what's going on in the spiritual realm, without focusing too much on it so as to be in a state of paranoia. John's heart and passion for a deeper intimacy with God is inspiring and contagious. Beyond the theological mumbo jumbo that most authors write about, it's nice to hear someone's persistent drive and heart to more intimacy and closeness with our Dad. It's extremely refreshing. It's trademark, "John," consistent with all his other books. Overall, I was encouraged with the unique format that this book was written, and look forward to personally pursue an even closer relationship with my Dad in heaven. Michael Trillo Author of What Does God Really Want? [..]

It seems to me that learning to truly walk with God should be done in community. What I enjoyed about John and Craig's approach is that by drifting through this book you get the opportunity to reaffirm what your hearing and push yourself to the next level. This type of insight is typically only found in a well-developed Band of Brothers or perhaps your local Pastor. You might ask what is the next level? It's simply the invitation to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you have struggled to hear the voice of God or perhaps have a deep theological conviction that you can't...this book is for you. It's practical and refreshing always giving the glory where it is due. It's not about what you can do or not...it is however, about who Jesus is and His offer to us all. I listened to John's book Walking With God on audio and completed the handbook as I went along. You have got to read the book before or in unison with this workbook. But if you do read the book, give this a try if you're serious about deepening your walk with Jesus. The audio book is read by John and an incredible addition to anyone's library.

Another awesome book from the heart of John Eldredge. He continues to challenge the "normal" Chirstian life, and writes with honesty about his own experiences. Every book that God inspires him to write is another breath of fresh air about what "freedom in Christ" can look like. I never knew conversational intimacy with our Father was possible before, but his writings, alond with Dallas Willard's and CS Lewis, have really opened my eyes. God is trying to reach his people through this message--don't pass it up!

"It is our deepest need, as human beings, to learn to live intimately with God." John Eldredge has been writing about walking with God for over ten years, since the publication of The Sacred Romance in 1997. His latest book, Walking with God, is his most deeply personal & may become his most controversial as well. Walking with God is not structured as a typical book at all: instead, it is a written retelling and explanation of his own walk with God over the course of a year. It has no specific goal or direction; it is simply his life day by day, and how he saw God guiding and teaching him. Interspersed with these personal experiences are explanations of his own worldview and approach to walking with God. Two core issues he spends a lot of time with are spiritual warfare and conversational intimacy with God. Eldredge's view of spiritual warfare is that demonic attacks, both in the form of physical ailments and mental and spiritual clouding, are very real and very common, almost an everyday occurrence, and that it takes concentrated, specific prayer to overcome them. Eldredge's view of "conversational intimacy" is that God really can speak to us, to enlighten and guide us, and that we can learn to listen to His voice. These paradigms are very foreign and even antithetical to most evangelical Christians. Eldredge fully realizes this, but does not try to build an elaborate structured case for his theology. After all, Eldredge is not a theologian at heart, but a storyteller. Consequently, I think he realized that he could be most effective in teaching his way of walking with God by telling stories, and not by trying to write a theological tome. I actually am both theologian and storyteller. The theologian in me has always bristled at some aspects of Eldredge's theology, and yet the storyteller in me sees much truth and much goodness in it as well. Did I agree with all the theology in this book? No, I did not. Did I take page after page of detailed notes, being struck again and again by his honesty and insight? Yes I did. Walking with God is a profoundly challenging book, one that I will re-read, meditate and pray over. I believe John wanted to create a book that would make people take a hard look at their definition of what it means to truly walk with God, and then show them a path to a richer and fuller life. He succeeded.