Hearing God Bible Study

by Dallas Willard

How can we hear and understand God's voice? For over thirty years, Dallas Willard's Hearing God has helped thousands of readers learn to develop a conversational relationship with God. Now Hearing God Bible Study guides you deeper into biblical texts and themes that are woven throughout Willard's beloved book. With these six easy-to-use studies, written by longtime spiritual formation author Jan Johnson, you will encounter what Scripture says about listening to God and what it means for you today. As companions to the IVP Signature Collection, IVP Signature Bible Studies help individuals and groups explore and apply biblical truths found in classic books. Each session features quotations from Hearing God matched with Scripture passages, reflection questions, and application ideas that will equip readers to connect the text to their own lives. A leader's guide is also included.

Genres: Spirituality

54 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 7, 2021

About the author

Dallas Willard was a widely respected American philosopher and Christian thinker, best known for his work on spiritual formation and his expertise in phenomenology, particularly the philosophy of Edmund Husserl. He taught philosophy at the University of Southern California from 1965 until his death in 2013, where he also served as department chair in the early 1980s. Willard held degrees in psychology, philosophy, and religion, earning his PhD in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a focus on the history of science. He was recognized as a leading translator and interpreter of Husserl's thought, making foundational texts available in English and contributing significantly to the fields of epistemology, philosophy of mind, and logic.
Though a serious academic, Willard became even more widely known for his books on Christian living, including The Divine Conspiracy and Renovation of the Heart, both of which earned major awards and helped shape the modern spiritual formation movement. He believed that discipleship to Jesus was an intentional process involving not only belief but transformation through spiritual disciplines like prayer, study, solitude, and service. For Willard, spiritual growth was not about earning God’s favor but about participating in the divine life through active cooperation with grace.
His teachings emphasized the concept of apprenticeship to Jesus—being with him, learning to be like him—and his influence extended to ministries such as Renovaré, the Apprentice Institute, and the Dallas Willard Center for Spiritual Formation. He served on the boards of organizations like the C.S. Lewis Foundation and Biola University, and his intellectual and spiritual legacy continues through Dallas Willard Ministries and academic institutions inspired by his work.
Willard was also a deeply personal writer who shared candidly about the challenges of balancing academic life with family. Despite his own admitted shortcomings, those closest to him regarded him as a man of deep love, humility, and grace. His enduring impact can be seen in the lives and works of many contemporary Christian thinkers and writers, including Richard J. Foster, James Bryan Smith, and John Mark Comer. As both philosopher and pastor to the mind, Dallas Willard remains a towering figure in the dialogue between rigorous thought and transformative Christian practice.