The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond [Hardcover]

Bill Hybels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2010

'Without a hint of exaggeration,' says Bill Hybels, 'the ability to discern divine direction has saved me from a life of sure boredom and self-destruction. God's well-timed words have redirected my path, rescued me from temptation and re-energized me during some of my deepest moments of despair.' In The Power of a Whisper, vision is cast for what life can look like when God's followers choose to hear from heaven as they navigate life on earth. Whispers that arbitrate key decisions, nudges that rescue from dark nights of the soul, promptings that spur on growth, urgings that come by way of another person, inspiration that opens once-glazed-over eyes to the terrible plight people face in this world---through firsthand accounts spanning fifty-seven years of life, more than thirty of which have been spent in the trenches of ministry, Hybels promotes passion in Christ-followers' hearts for being wide open to hearing from God, and for getting gutsier about doing exactly what he says to do. For more information go to: www.thewhisperwall.com.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hybels, founding pastor of the globally influential Willow Creek Community Church, writes about learning to hear the "communicating God." Describing his life as a 50-year whisper-fueled odyssey, he says he waited nearly four decades to write this book because of controversy surrounding claims of hearing divine messages. In contrast to those who are certain they have heard God speak, Hybels points readers to the Holy Spirit's subtle "Wind Words," saying the problem is not God's silence but whether Christians have ears to hear. Hybels weaves personal stories, biblical principles, and global stories of others, saying no goal is more critical than keeping a "pliable heart before God." He writes that his suburban Chicago megachurch and its worldwide associated network of churches exist today because at low points in Hybels's life, God "graciously whispered to me."
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From the Back Cover

God still speaks, is anyone listening? Join bestselling author and pastor Bill Hybels in this four-session video-based study where your group will learn to navigate life through whispers from God. Through this dynamic teaching and group study, you will learn to practice hearing from God, surrender to the voice of God, obey his promptings and become a more effective kingdom-builder. Use with the Wide Open Participant's Guide to help facilitate group discussion and further study. --This text refers to the DVD-ROM edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1st Printing edition (July 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310320747
• ISBN-13: 978-0310320746
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Hybels is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., and chairman of the board for the Willow Creek Association. The bestselling author of more than twenty books, including Axiom, Holy Discontent, Just Walk Across the Room, The Volunteer Revolution, Courageous Leadership, and classics such as Too Busy Not to Pray and Becoming a Contagious Christian, Hybels is known worldwide as an expert in training Christian leaders to transform individuals and their communities through the local church. Hybels received a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Trinity College in Deerfield, Ill. He and his wife, Lynne, have two adult children and one grandson, Henry.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars My Whisper to Hybels': "This isn't your best book.", July 23, 2010

By 

Greg A. Wilson (Flower Mound, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond (Hardcover)

Without a doubt, one of the most misunderstood aspects of the Christian life is what we mean when we say that we "heard from the Lord", "received a prompting from God", or otherwise received specific divine direction. The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God. Having the Guts to Respond. is a decent, basic, easily readable explanation of what it means to hear God's voice, but I felt that it lacked depth. I should point out that I received an advance reading copy of the book, so perhaps some of my problems with the book will be corrected in the final publication copy. Chapter 4, "How to Know When You're Hearing from God," is probably the most important chapter in a book like this. Hybels shared 5 filters that he uses to "test every whisper" he hears - to make sure they are from God. But, here I was a little confused, because the first filter was "Is the Prompting Truly from God?". I think his point here was simply to emphasize that not every "prompting" or "whisper" is from God - but that was the point of the whole chapter anyway. The other four filters he listed were: "Is it Scriptural?", "Is it wise?", "Is it in tune with your own character?" (another one I had a problem with) and "What do the people you most trust think about it?" Hybels referred to the "Is it in tune with your own character?" test as the "wiring test," and while I understand his point that God typically does not ask us to do something that is out of character with the way he wired us - that is not always necessarily the case. The Scriptures are full of examples of the most unlikely people being asked to do things that could be considered completely out of character for them. The Lord sometimes uses such unlikely assignments to shape and mold our character to be more like His. The Power of a Whisper isn't a bad book. Hybels gives a number of inspiring examples of the benefits of listening to God's whispers, and a few examples of the consequences of our inattention. But there are much better books on the subject in my opinion. Consider Dallas Willard's Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God, or Henry and Richard Blackaby's Hearing God's Voice, or a resource specifically geared to discerning God's will for your life such as M. Blaine Smith's classic Knowing God's Will: Finding Guidance for Specific Decisions. I like to read Hybels on leadership, but just think that others have done a better job with this important topic.

Greg Wilson
[...].

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Good Insights on Hearing God, August 3, 2010

By 

C. Stephans - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Hybels encourages readers by asserting Scripturally and anecdotally that God speaks to people, and if they are willing to respond, they will be blessed and led by the Creator of all things. This is one of several books by Hybels that I have read, they have all been encouraging, practical and for the most part Scripturally based. This book follows suit; however, I found the self-aggrandizing of the author somewhat unbearable in this book. For me the constant insertion of Hybels himself obstructed the message of hearing God.

The positive value of the book leads readers to know that the Bible teaches that God speaks to us for our good, as he leads us, teaches us, disciplines us and loves us. He speaks to us by whispers in our spirit, through others, through our observations, and by his Word. Hybels shares a plethora of stories of how people have been blessed, inspired, convicted to repent, warned, led in decisions, etc by God's whispers. He also offers some relevant guidelines for people to follow to learn to hear God and to discern whether a whisper is from God.

The negative feedback for me has to do with the unnecessary, more-than-typical aggrandizing writing by Hybels. Some examples are how he credits one man's hearing of God's whispers not to God's grace or the man's sensitivity but to the author's own preaching; another example comes from his teaching on humility. Hybel's solution to pride is to condescend to having conversations with and tipping "cab drivers, bell hops and room cleaners in hotels...grocery baggers, lawn mowing teams or others employed in service oriented jobs." I honestly couldn't believe I had just read that. Obviously, he assumes such people would not be reading his book or he would have offered some instruction for people in such "humble" positions. Hybels also assures readers that he would have been super successful in whatever career path he had chosen. It just seems he goes to unnecessary efforts to remind readers that he is very important. It is quite contrary to the tone of many books on spiritual disciplines where the author makes him or herself very little so that God is magnified.

Among many great examples of people hearing and following God's whispers, I also think that Hybels offers some examples of his own following God's whispers that contradict his own stated guidelines for discerning God's voice; I think this especially applies to a parenting example or two. I think he needed to spend more time emphasizing the discernment process and offer more relevant examples of people getting it wrong, which can be as damaging as hearing from God can be helpful. Hearing from God can be a subjective experience, and Hybels really does not convey a sense of how careful I think we need to be in telling ourselves and others "The Lord says...". That prelude to a statement can be used for ungodly purposes, unfortunately. Most of the examples in the book are very positive and certainly illustrate God speaking to his children.

I think there is a beneficial message in the book. I also think the book could have used a careful editing by a spiritual director or mentor of Hybels who could have helped to make Hybels less and Jesus more.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Power of A Whisper, July 28, 2010

By 

Kimberly Vanderpool "living4today" (South Dakota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond (Hardcover)

Shhh, did you hear it? Can you feel it? The nudge or whisper you just heard could be from God. If your like me it can be a challenge to know if the voice you heard was from God or just your imagination gone wild. In Bill Hybels newest book, The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God. Having the Guts to Respond, Pastor Hybel shares story's of God whispers in people's lives.

This was the first book I have read by Bill Hybels and I was pleasantly surprised. For a non-fiction, religious book, it was a easy read, yet there was a great many pondering thoughts that could challenge a person. (if you take the time to ponder.) One of the things I appreciated about the book was the authentic nature it was written. The examples and story's are very real and believable.

Throughout the book, Pastor Hybels takes the reader on a journey of how he responded to God nudges and hearing God whisper in his life. He leads through example on how we, too, can hear God whisper.

In my opinion, one of the greatest resources Pastor Hybel gives us is short list of five filters that can help us test every whisper we receive. Below is the filter list, you should read the book to get more details.

Filter 1: Is the prompting truly from God?

Filter 2: The Scripture Filter

Filter 3: The General-Wisdom Filter

Filter 4: The Wiring Test

Filter 5: The godly Counsel Test

This is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone who needs encouragement that God is active and alive in our daily life or if someone is searching for the next step in their life journey.

I was given a copy of The Power of a Whisper as an advanced reader copy by Zondervan in exchange for my reading it and writing an honest review of the book. No other compensation was received and all views are mine and mine alone.