Customer Reviews

Whispers That Delight

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Whispers that Delight is a fresh take on the perennial topic of prayer. Andrew Hawkins highlights a prayer pattern that is both easy to understand and put into practice. The PARE (preparation, attentiveness, response and enjoyment) acronym is a useful tool to guide readers through the prayer journey.

Using dramatic illustrations, interesting stories, and personal analogies to make concepts clear, Hawkins exposes potent secrets of prayer. The book is packed full of practical suggestions and gives new insight into familiar scriptures.

Whispers that Delight was a treat to read, and I couldn't wait to finish so that I could pass it along to friends, although it is one of those books that I will refer to again and again.

Anyone who reads this book will be well on the way to a stronger prayer life.

Whispers that Delight stands squarely in the tradition of the great spiritual masters of the Christian Faith. The author quotes often from writers such as St. John of the Cross, Catherine of Genoa, Brother Lawrence, Julian of Norwich, Mother Teresa and many others. At the same time, he writes as a contemporary, struggling with the practical issues that each of us living in today's world must face. He is a modern-day mystic, working out what spirituality means for himself in the here and now and helping us to do the same.

The main theme of the book is prayer, and the author uses the acronym PARE to provide an easy-to-follow pattern for our approach to God. When I first started reading the book, I worried that this "pattern" might be presented as a wooden formula. This did not turn out to be the case, at all. The discussion quickly gave way to full-orbed exploration of our relationship with God for which PARE was merely a stepping stone.

As one reads the book, one can easily believe that God is vibrantly alive and available to each of us. Andrew Hawkins' picture of God is thoroughly attractive and winsome. The book is not so much a study of God as it is an invitation to know Him through Jesus Christ, interact with Him, and enjoy Him.

I found Whispers providing fresh insight and new encouragement for my own walk with God. Along the way, inevitably, I encountered points that I questioned or did not fully understand, yet, when this happened, I found myself wishing I could sit down with the author to explore the topic further. This is because he impresses me as being both learned and a learner, and I found myself believing he would invite that kind of dialogue.

All in all, I found Whispers that Delight insightful, and helpful. Perhaps, "nourishing" is the word that describes it best for me. -Tom Baird