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Knowing God Through the Year: A 365-Day Devotional
Each day you'll read a Scripture and a brief passage about the glory and joy of being in relationship with God. An idea at the end of each day's reading will help you to respond to God in prayer and reflection. This could be the most significant book you will read this year--or next.
328 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2004
125 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
J.I. Packer
446 books931 followersWhat do J. I. Packer, Billy Graham and Richard John Neuhaus have in common? Each was recently named by TIME magazine as among the 25 most influential evangelicals in America.
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 20, 2022
It counts for 2022 if I finished it in 2022, right? 🤪 I’ve never read the original Knowing God by J.I. Packer, but I’d heard it was great, so when I saw that there was a daily devotional one, I ordered one for my 2021 daily reading/time with God. This one started as an attempt to read it along with friends, but that fell through relatively quickly, and even though Carolyn Nystrom made the wise concession to combine Saturday/Sunday each week (in case readers - me, many times 🙋🏼♂️ - got behind and needed fewer days to catch up), there were still a few times when I had to do an entire week (or more) at once. Somehow I’m already behind in my 2022 plan, too…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Each day has a verse at the top, a reflection on that verse and maybe some additional references, and then a prompt to pray, journal, or reflect at the bottom. Unfortunately, I rarely followed through on the prompts since usually I was trying to rush through them 😬, and sometimes Jesus and I had some other things to discuss. Then again, there were other times when it was like “this is exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you LORD” or another favorite, “This is exactly what I needed to hear on Thursday, when I should have read it, but I was behind, so now I’m reading it today and rolling my eyes at my past self for not submitting to the Holy Spirit.” 🙄
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This probably would have been a great one for 2020, when I had the freedom to spend most mornings at my desk with a cup of coffee looking out the window and practically unlimited journaling time, but for the most part, 2021 was back to business as usual, at least as far as scheduling was concerned. Overall, for someone who’s looking for a basic “check-in” every day and some reminders of the essentials of what the Bible tells us about God, it would be great, but it’s very easy to fall behind or to gloss over some of the things inside and take them for granted.
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#dailydevotional #NIV #KnowingGod #prayer #reflection #journaling #ZackReads2022 #book1of35
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
.
Each day has a verse at the top, a reflection on that verse and maybe some additional references, and then a prompt to pray, journal, or reflect at the bottom. Unfortunately, I rarely followed through on the prompts since usually I was trying to rush through them 😬, and sometimes Jesus and I had some other things to discuss. Then again, there were other times when it was like “this is exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you LORD” or another favorite, “This is exactly what I needed to hear on Thursday, when I should have read it, but I was behind, so now I’m reading it today and rolling my eyes at my past self for not submitting to the Holy Spirit.” 🙄
.
This probably would have been a great one for 2020, when I had the freedom to spend most mornings at my desk with a cup of coffee looking out the window and practically unlimited journaling time, but for the most part, 2021 was back to business as usual, at least as far as scheduling was concerned. Overall, for someone who’s looking for a basic “check-in” every day and some reminders of the essentials of what the Bible tells us about God, it would be great, but it’s very easy to fall behind or to gloss over some of the things inside and take them for granted.
.
#dailydevotional #NIV #KnowingGod #prayer #reflection #journaling #ZackReads2022 #book1of35
December 23, 2021
Excellent. Followed daily through the year and intend to repeat again in 2022. Very thought provoking. Especially in retirement with more time to study and ask for guidance and spiritual explanation
July 14, 2023
Great daily devotional
January 4, 2022
Spiritually deep and encouraging devotional!
Based on Packer's spiritual classic, KNOWING GOD, this year-long devotional takes readers through the highlights and lessons of that wonderful book. Each daily devotion has a Scripture passage, an excerpt from KNOWING GOD that illuminates the passage, and ends with either a suggested prayer or journal entry. Highly recommended!
Based on Packer's spiritual classic, KNOWING GOD, this year-long devotional takes readers through the highlights and lessons of that wonderful book. Each daily devotion has a Scripture passage, an excerpt from KNOWING GOD that illuminates the passage, and ends with either a suggested prayer or journal entry. Highly recommended!
February 9, 2019
Some really good devotionals in this book and it re-emphasized the book "Knowing God" for me.
December 30, 2023
Fun to revisit Packer’s classic in this format.
June 6, 2025
I started this devotional last summer instead of at the beginning of last year. I highly recommend it.
October 15, 2025
Took my wife and I awhile to read through it, but it was a great devotional to read each night before we pray.
December 25, 2025
A great daily reminder that the purpose of life is to know God.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews