Listening to God: Experience a Deeper Relationship with God by Learning to Hear His Voice (In Touch Study Series) [Paperback]

Dr. Charles F. Stanley (Author)

Book Description

Series: In Touch Study | Publication Date: September 1996

Dr. Charles Stanley's new series of Bible study guides feature insights and wisdom of this beloved pastor and author. Small groups and individuals who want a Bible study that's spiritually sound and practical will find a wealth of ideas to help them understand and apply the Scriptures to the real world. Each title takes a unique fourfold approach to get the most out of Bible study time - emphasizing personal identification with the Scripture passage, recognition of your emotional response, reflection of the passage's meaning and application, and taking steps to apply what's been learned. This is a sound way to explore the Word of God.

Product Details

• Paperback: 113 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Student/Stdy Gde edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785272577
• ISBN-13: 978-0785272571
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #591,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction and Study, October 4, 2010

By 

Robert Brooks - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Charles Stanley Life Principles Study Guides: Listening to God: Listening to God (Life Principles Study Series) (Kindle Edition)

Charles Stanley has a talent for taking difficult material and making it easier to understand, and mostly importantly, apply in every day life. In "Listening to God" Stanley has created a helpful overview of a topic that is usually addressed as a side topic when discussing either Bible study/exegesis or prayer. The book is more of a guided personal reflection than a true Bible study, so if you are looking for a very deep interpretation of various verses you will not find that in this book. However, that is not what Stanley is attempting to accomplish with this book. Stanley covers the following lessons (each is a chapter):

God Has Something to Say to You
Why God Speaks to Us
How God Has Spoken
The Primary Ways God Speaks Today
How God Gets Our Attention
The Hallmarks of God's Messages to Us
How to Tell if the Voice is God's, Not Satan's
Our Predisposition to Hear
How to Listen Actively
Sitting in God's Presence

The lessons are each the perfect length to incorporate in to your personal devotion time in the morning or evening. A lesson will probably take 10 - 15 minutes to read, and contains another 10 - 15 minutes worth of reflection and journal prompts within it. Stanley does a great job of providing a barrage of questions throughout each lesson, especially after he quotes a section of Scripture. Generally, after each Scripture quotation Stanley will ask 2 - 4 questions that are intended to get the reader to interact with the text and to put in to practice what they have learned about listening to God.

The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 stars was because there are just too many assertions throughout the book about the way God thinks, acts, desires, etc., that were not accompanied by a Scripture verse for me. Even though I knew the point of the book was not to try to prove particular points but to get the reader to think, and even though I almost always agreed with the assertions, it is always a little concerning when you can go for pages without a single reference to Scripture.

One lesson I particularly enjoyed was Stanley's treatment of the way in which God speaks to us today; particularly his discussion of how God does not speak through nature. His treatment of this subject I thought was done thoughtfully and logically, but very concisely (maybe 2 pages). I recommend this section to anyone who is still trying to figure out how they feel about comments on the TV from certain people about natural disasters...

In the end, this is not the deepest work you can find on this topic, but it is a great overview, and is perfect for young Christians. The questions at the end of each lesson, and after each Scripture selection, are helpful and well thought out. It's a nice supplement to your quiet times if you are looking for something new to read at this time.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short Questions, Incisive Answers, October 9, 2010

By 

Kevin L. Nenstiel "omnivore" (Kearney, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Charles Stanley Life Principles Study Guides: Listening to God: Listening to God (Life Principles Study Series) (Kindle Edition)

This concise, plain-spoken study focuses on that moment in prayer when we stop telling God our demands and start listening for His will. This is more momentous than it may sound. Scripture calls us to put aside earthly appetites and seek God in stillness, but we're all tempted to harangue God with our wants. Charles Stanley uses Scripture and gentle dialectic to steer us from that kind of self-seeking and into Biblically grounded listening for God's voice.

Stanley writes for both small group and individual study, using simple questions we can ask ourselves to better understand the Bible and our relationship with God. I like a lot of Stanley's questions, which force us to take a hard look at ourselves. Consider this one: "When have you been embarrassed by something in your appearance which others saw but you didn't?" It's not hard to get from that question to seeing how pride drives a wedge between me and God.

A few of Stanley's questions run to the vague side, like this one: "What does it mean to be 'conformed to this world'? Give some real-life examples." I think Stanley means well here, but it would be very easy for someone self-righteous and full of judgement to contort this question so that, no matter the answer, that person could say, "I'm certainly not conformed to this world; this is only a concern for other people."

But these shortcomings are a minority. Stanley offers an incisive study which peels away earthly distortions to get at the heart of God's will in our lives. He makes us think, he exposes our flimsy rationalizations, and he calls us back to God and the Bible. And if we pay attention to his lessons and take them to heart, maybe we'll hear God calling us back to the fold.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to turn your life around for God? Read this book!, August 17, 2000

By 

AJ (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Listening to God: Experience a Deeper Relationship with God by Learning to Hear His Voice (In Touch Study Series) (Paperback)

Are you struggling in your faith? Are you having trouble listening to God's voice? Did you know that there are several ways for God to communicate with you? Did you know that most of the time we hear two voices (Satan and God)? Want to know how to tell them apart and how to ultimately listen to God? Then you should check out Charles Stanley's book Listening to God. Two years ago I received this book as a gift and I just put it on the shelf. When I finally read the book I realized that if I would have read it the first time I would not have been faced with the issues that I am struggling with today.

In this book Charles Stanley not only teaches the reader how to listen to God, but he also tells the reader how to take that new knowledge and apply it in real life situations. He uses examples and stories from his own life, which helps the reader relate to the new concepts and issues. Each point is backed with scripture and is followed by questions that will make the reader take a closer look at his or her walk with God.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is stumbling in their walk with God or anyone who is trying to strengthen their relationship with the Lord. This book, although it is apart of a Bible Study series, does not necessarily have to be read in the correct order. Just pick it up, read it and don't give up because the Lord will use it to show you the way!