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Hearing God
Christians often struggle with prayer because it has become a one-way conversation with the ceiling. It doesn't have to be this way! In this revised and updated edition of the classic bestseller, Peter Lord offers an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to developing a rich prayer life--moving believers from one-way communication to God to two-way communication with God. He answers such questions as Can I hear God's voice today? How can I discern the difference between God's voice and Satan's voice? How can I find God's will and direction for my life? and many more God still speaks today, and when believers pursue a dynamic personal relationship with him, they will learn to recognize and cherish his voice.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 5, 2017
This book was a gift from my dad and I really didn't expect much from it. As a critic, I think the middle-to-end sagged pretty badly and became threateningly redundant. As a theologian, there are many Bible verses that I found to be poorly interpreted or misappropriated; likewise, I found the author's views on God's sovereignty in our lives to be sloppy, if not sometimes outright contradictory. However, as a Christian reader, I would be lying not to admit that the book, overall, was very beneficial to my day-to-day sanctification. I must praise the book in two regards, in particular. The last four chapters, all brief and to the point, were absolutely exceptional. Those chapters talk about how "hearing God"--a correction that prayer is a two-way conversation and not simply talking "at" God--affects our lives and ministries in specific ways, including many wonderful and memorable anecdotes from Peter Lord's life. My second point of praise is the way Peter Lord shared, (in large, italicized block quotes), specific statements he's heard from the Holy Spirit throughout his life. These quotes, attributed directly to God without any attempt to cover it up, were inspiring. In fact, each of these passages, during the few times they appear in the book, always felt like truly inspired writing. What I found particularly surprising was how God would be quoted in saying things that, according to other pieces of the book, I don't think Peter Lord actually agreed with! Yet by every conceivable measure, it seems that Lord gave a faithful presentation of the exact things God has told him over the years. Those few-and-far-between "God quotes" make this book worth reading.
March 20, 2008
One of the most powerful Christian books I have ever read is this wonderful book by Peter Lord. Having met Brother Peter and heard him preach (he was even a guest in my home when I was a child) I have always been blessed by his ministry.
Hearing God prepared me to be open and receptive to Henry Blackaby's "Experiencing God." It is a book which explores how I can know God's voice and sets out some powerful principles about how God speaks.
My devotional life came alive and my prayer times became more than offering God a wish list or confessing my own sinfulness. I learned to honestly and openly seek God's direction.
Hearing God prepared me to be open and receptive to Henry Blackaby's "Experiencing God." It is a book which explores how I can know God's voice and sets out some powerful principles about how God speaks.
My devotional life came alive and my prayer times became more than offering God a wish list or confessing my own sinfulness. I learned to honestly and openly seek God's direction.
April 25, 2023
This is the second time I have read this book. It is a sincere and genuine perspective on how God speaks to us in His many varied ways. The authors education, training, and experience makes this a wisdom study of how God communicates with us.
Read again for a third time in 2021. A great book to revisit time and time again for enduring principles.
Read again for a third time in 2021. A great book to revisit time and time again for enduring principles.
April 29, 2008
Peter Lord has a strange little vocal inflection that he makes whenever something strikes home. It is almost a laugh, but it is also almost a release like he had been punched in the stomach. I remember that sound because hearing him make it forced me to think about what it means to say, "Amen." Amen is that word that is used far too often in Baptist circles by people who don't understand it. It is built from the Hebrew verb meaning to cause to stand, so it indicates something foundational or basic. In short, "You can depend on it." So, whenever you say or hear "Amen," it ought to indicate something where you pay close attention and consider it thoughtfully.
There's a point to this and I'll get to it in a moment, but there's something else Peter taught me. Oh, he didn't teach me by lecture or say that I had to do it, but as I observed him and listened to him in various seminars and prayer sessions, I heard him say over and over again, "Bless God!" Frankly, I was initially offended. My first thought was: "Hey! God blesses us. How do we presume to bless God?" My second thought was: "Hmm! The psalmist said he would BLESS GOD at all times. If that's what Peter's doing, what does he mean by it?" It forced me to study the idea of blessing in the Bible and I still don't have a complete answer. My best answer is that we can "bless" God (give God something tangible) in much the same way as my children used to give me presents for birthday and Christmas (with MY money) and as I would do so for my parents when I was younger (with THEIR money). It wasn't that I needed the presents or that my parents needed their presents. It was the joy of participating in the gift-giving process. And that's the way we get to bless God--for our benefit.
Those were two very important lessons that Peter Lord taught me by the way he acted. So, when my younger brother reviewed Hearing God here on goodreads.com a couple of months ago, I thought I should see if God wanted to use Peter to teach me something else. Apparently, God did so.
One of the things that Hearing God clarified for me was that hearing what God has to say is a choice (p. 28). As a choice, it needs to be something vital for us. I loved his little poetic insight:
"Our desperation--
coupled with our inability,
our weakness, our need--
makes hearing from him
an absolute necessity." (p. 30)
Then, he started hitting me where I live. He started sharing about substitutes we use for actually "listening" to God in prayer and meditation upon the Bible. He mentioned good books, good sermons, good church services, and good counsel as being experiences we have a tendency to substitute for authentic time in God's presence (pp. 34-35).
Then, he cited some ways that we can become more aware of how God speaks to us. We can become more responsive to God by focusing on Him (p. 38) because those who spend more time with God are more likely to hear Him. I also savored his insight about "purity" (taken from a Soren Kierkegaard essay of all things) being a matter of focus or single-mindedness (p. 45).
Next, he goes on to cite the kinds of clutter that keep us from spending time with God. Being too busy to spend quality time was #1, as he quoted Richard Foster (Celebration of Discipline) as saying, "Hurry is not of the devil; it is the devil." (p. 53) Other traps include not filtering out external distractions, being shackled by our own presuppositions, not having enough personal experience with God, and trying too hard by ourselves (pp. 54-55). He warns of "runaway emotions" (pp. 75-78) in a way that spoke to my rollercoaster mentality.
Perhaps, most significantly, he offered a practical solution on dealing with mental distractions. He noted that we always have other concerns and considerations that pop into our mind when we are trying to pray. He says that he keeps a pen and blank sheet of paper close to him when he is in his quiet time. Whenever a distraction occurs, he writes it down on the paper, making a list. He says the mere act of putting it on the list enables him to move on and mentally return to where he should be. Putting it on paper allows us to temporarily forget those concerns without worrying whether we'll remember to deal with them later or not (p. 80).
From a pastoral perspective, Chapter 6 is most insightful. When Peter speaks of "The Barrier of Tradition," he points a spotlight at an issue that I've had with many traditional Christians. He points out how people who are so tied to tradition are so shackled NOT because they are bad or want to be reactionary, but because they were personally blessed in a traditional way. As a result, whenever things aren't going so well or whenever they truly desire a spiritual blessing, they jump back into the old modes of doing things BECAUSE they subconsciously think that if they get back to the traditional ways of doing things, they will automatically create the same spiritual atmosphere. This is incredibly naive and borders on treating the traditional approach as idolatry, but I had never understood the attitude of the traditionalist so clearly before. I MIGHT have had longer and more effective ministries in certain churches if I had understood this earlier in my life.
Another valuable insight I gained from the book was a simple list of thoughts we can know come from Satan instead of from God. These were so important to me that I shared them on a PowerPoint slide in a recent sermon (Yes, I gave credit to this book on the slide!) and had several requests for the slides--one particularly because of this slide.
#1 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that would cause you to judge someone.
#2 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that cause you to despise someone.
#3 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that cause you to reject someone.
#4 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that cause you to speak evil of someone.
#5 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that cause you to carry a grudge against someone. (pp. 149-150)
Can you tell that this book was important to my spiritual growth and my mental well-being? On several occasions, I put the book aside and said, "Bless God!" On other occasions, I mentally imagined Peter's vocal "hnnnh!" as certain observations hit home to me. That was an "Amen" that meant something to me!
There's a point to this and I'll get to it in a moment, but there's something else Peter taught me. Oh, he didn't teach me by lecture or say that I had to do it, but as I observed him and listened to him in various seminars and prayer sessions, I heard him say over and over again, "Bless God!" Frankly, I was initially offended. My first thought was: "Hey! God blesses us. How do we presume to bless God?" My second thought was: "Hmm! The psalmist said he would BLESS GOD at all times. If that's what Peter's doing, what does he mean by it?" It forced me to study the idea of blessing in the Bible and I still don't have a complete answer. My best answer is that we can "bless" God (give God something tangible) in much the same way as my children used to give me presents for birthday and Christmas (with MY money) and as I would do so for my parents when I was younger (with THEIR money). It wasn't that I needed the presents or that my parents needed their presents. It was the joy of participating in the gift-giving process. And that's the way we get to bless God--for our benefit.
Those were two very important lessons that Peter Lord taught me by the way he acted. So, when my younger brother reviewed Hearing God here on goodreads.com a couple of months ago, I thought I should see if God wanted to use Peter to teach me something else. Apparently, God did so.
One of the things that Hearing God clarified for me was that hearing what God has to say is a choice (p. 28). As a choice, it needs to be something vital for us. I loved his little poetic insight:
"Our desperation--
coupled with our inability,
our weakness, our need--
makes hearing from him
an absolute necessity." (p. 30)
Then, he started hitting me where I live. He started sharing about substitutes we use for actually "listening" to God in prayer and meditation upon the Bible. He mentioned good books, good sermons, good church services, and good counsel as being experiences we have a tendency to substitute for authentic time in God's presence (pp. 34-35).
Then, he cited some ways that we can become more aware of how God speaks to us. We can become more responsive to God by focusing on Him (p. 38) because those who spend more time with God are more likely to hear Him. I also savored his insight about "purity" (taken from a Soren Kierkegaard essay of all things) being a matter of focus or single-mindedness (p. 45).
Next, he goes on to cite the kinds of clutter that keep us from spending time with God. Being too busy to spend quality time was #1, as he quoted Richard Foster (Celebration of Discipline) as saying, "Hurry is not of the devil; it is the devil." (p. 53) Other traps include not filtering out external distractions, being shackled by our own presuppositions, not having enough personal experience with God, and trying too hard by ourselves (pp. 54-55). He warns of "runaway emotions" (pp. 75-78) in a way that spoke to my rollercoaster mentality.
Perhaps, most significantly, he offered a practical solution on dealing with mental distractions. He noted that we always have other concerns and considerations that pop into our mind when we are trying to pray. He says that he keeps a pen and blank sheet of paper close to him when he is in his quiet time. Whenever a distraction occurs, he writes it down on the paper, making a list. He says the mere act of putting it on the list enables him to move on and mentally return to where he should be. Putting it on paper allows us to temporarily forget those concerns without worrying whether we'll remember to deal with them later or not (p. 80).
From a pastoral perspective, Chapter 6 is most insightful. When Peter speaks of "The Barrier of Tradition," he points a spotlight at an issue that I've had with many traditional Christians. He points out how people who are so tied to tradition are so shackled NOT because they are bad or want to be reactionary, but because they were personally blessed in a traditional way. As a result, whenever things aren't going so well or whenever they truly desire a spiritual blessing, they jump back into the old modes of doing things BECAUSE they subconsciously think that if they get back to the traditional ways of doing things, they will automatically create the same spiritual atmosphere. This is incredibly naive and borders on treating the traditional approach as idolatry, but I had never understood the attitude of the traditionalist so clearly before. I MIGHT have had longer and more effective ministries in certain churches if I had understood this earlier in my life.
Another valuable insight I gained from the book was a simple list of thoughts we can know come from Satan instead of from God. These were so important to me that I shared them on a PowerPoint slide in a recent sermon (Yes, I gave credit to this book on the slide!) and had several requests for the slides--one particularly because of this slide.
#1 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that would cause you to judge someone.
#2 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that cause you to despise someone.
#3 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that cause you to reject someone.
#4 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that cause you to speak evil of someone.
#5 -- The enemy puts thoughts in your mind that cause you to carry a grudge against someone. (pp. 149-150)
Can you tell that this book was important to my spiritual growth and my mental well-being? On several occasions, I put the book aside and said, "Bless God!" On other occasions, I mentally imagined Peter's vocal "hnnnh!" as certain observations hit home to me. That was an "Amen" that meant something to me!
July 9, 2025
4.5 stars rounded up. Some dated things but the concepts supersede time and a few things I feel very strongly that while good intentioned is not correct from the God I know. IE Pg 197 “Unless each step in inner growth finds corresponding expression in service to mankind, the student treads a dangerous path”- I could argue that these are words from the enemy that keep us from recognizing that we are loved so much that God cares about our own growth because He loves US and not that we can only do the work for ourself it if it benefits someone else (anyone else been in the grips of Satan’s lies of shame because of statements like this??). My own mental health work has ultimately put me in a position of genuinely following the Holy Spirit closer but it was the idea that I’m not worth the work because it was for “me” and not “others” that kept me stuck for a lot longer than I needed to be.
Anywhooo, it really was a great read. So intriguing being written in 1988 and thinking in my head so many more examples of how the enemy has infiltrated that didn’t yet exist.
Anywhooo, it really was a great read. So intriguing being written in 1988 and thinking in my head so many more examples of how the enemy has infiltrated that didn’t yet exist.
September 7, 2024
“Without the Author - the Holy Spirit - to interpret it for us, the Bible becomes a dividing wall, killing people’s fellowship with one another. But when the Bible is read under the guidance of its Author, its words live and unify the church.”
January 15, 2018
There is more to life than what we think
Recommend to Christians and Christians to be. Easy to read. Common sense religion. The best is yet to come.
Brilliant
Recommend to Christians and Christians to be. Easy to read. Common sense religion. The best is yet to come.
Brilliant
November 14, 2018
Profound and simple.
June 21, 2020
What a great reminder that God cares about every detail of our lives no matter how small.
January 18, 2022
This book is amazing. I'm going to read it again when I retire later this year, and spend some really intense time in it. There is so much good in here, and we all need to learn from it.
March 6, 2025
Hands down the best book I have ever read on faith. Gave me a good understanding of what God says to us versus what I say or Satan says to myself.
July 16, 2025
In 1988, Peter Lord, pastor of Park Avenue Church in Titusville, Florida, published Hearing God. Having grown up in a semi-Charismatic background, I was wary of anyone saying that “they heard from God.” The next thing you know—they would lay on you some heavy-detail that was more self-indulgent than necessary. Lord’s book is deeply personal about how we can learn to hear God in our everyday life, applying scripture, guiding us, and protecting us, among other things. This deeply personal journey of hearing God is about developing a relationship with Him on the journey He has planned for you. 37 years later, this book is still selling briskly. Lord shows how God always intended to speak with us. He wasn’t muzzled by a completed book. For sure, Charismatics have made a mess in this area, and provided much reason for cessationists and religionists to gag God, poo-poo the notion that we can hear from God by derisively asking if He communicates through a Charlton Heston voice… Lord shares personal stories and recounting how God has guided his family, Lord demonstrates that hearing God is not a delusion—nor is it something that can be achieved if we aren’t looking to Him to do it. I heard Lord speak several times on this subject and you could tell he was a practitioner—not a religious theorist. If you don’t know God’s clear and gentle voice, you don’t have a relationship, and you might be working at trying to save yourself. This is a practical book.
July 20, 2009
We read this book in my women's group at church. It REALLY helped me with my personal walk with God and being able to recognize and hear God's voice. Through this study I was able to come into a closer communion with God in my prayer life and was able to hear a very audible voice from God a few times once I was able to better recognize His voice based on His character. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to deepen their prayer life and anyone who desires to TRULY "hear" God. :-) The only reason I didn't give this 5*s is because some areas were written a little weird. All of us in our group at church agreed that we didn't care for the writing style at times but overall the book was helpful and a good read.
May 3, 2010
My previous Pastor gave me this book about 6 years ago, and back then it seemed the book was a hard read. Six years later, I've matured tremendously in my walk with God and I find this book to be right on time! It's very informative and provides intimate insights tailored for my life, current situations and/or station, and my relationship with Abba. This book was a prophetic exchange between my Pastor and I. I thank Peter Lord for being a willing vessel for our Lord and allowing the Holy Spirit to use him to provide vital knowledge on how to hear from God! I recommend this book for those that are serious about their relationship with the Lord and being used to help and assist the body of Christ.
Des30008!
Des30008!
June 7, 2008
Communication with God doesn't have to be a one way street. You begging and pleading; Him seemingly ignoring you.
Sometimes we hear a voice, though it may not make a sound; sometimes a thought in our head. Is that thought us? Maybe sometimes it is not us but someone else.
Ever think about something you're going to do and 'something' inside says, No, do this.. and it's a whole new idea that you hadn't thought of? Well that voice in your head just may not be you. Yes you can truly hear if you learn to listen. Just, before you do make sure you know who it is.
Sometimes we hear a voice, though it may not make a sound; sometimes a thought in our head. Is that thought us? Maybe sometimes it is not us but someone else.
Ever think about something you're going to do and 'something' inside says, No, do this.. and it's a whole new idea that you hadn't thought of? Well that voice in your head just may not be you. Yes you can truly hear if you learn to listen. Just, before you do make sure you know who it is.
January 5, 2008
Pastor Lord teaches you how to quiet your mind and learn to hear the true voice of God.
August 20, 2008
This is one of the most encouraging books for the average Christian. It is simple yet, rich with understanding and biblically sound.
Read
April 17, 2009Hearing God by Peter Lord (?)
April 8, 2011
This is a great guide book for listening prayer. Peter Lord breaks it down the process and includes useful stories from his experience. I'm a fan.
January 11, 2011
Loved it. Common sense approach. Kept going back to it.
Want to read
October 26, 2012My home group is reading this book together. Good stuff!
August 9, 2013
Accessible and practical with a good balance of principles and personal illustrations. Convicting and instructive. I recommend it.
May 5, 2016
Very informative and backed by many Scripture references.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews