Listening Prayer: Learning to Hear God's Voice and Keep a Prayer Journal

by Leanne Payne

True listening is obedient listening. To cross the line from spiritual immaturity to maturity we must learn to hear God's voice. Only then can we find the mind of Christ and gain transcendent wisdom--including understanding, guidance, knowledge, exhortation, and consolation.

Genres: Prayer, Christian, Spirituality, Theology, Christianity, Nonfiction, Faith

261 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1994

About the author

Mrs. Payne has been active in the ministry of healing prayer for over thirty years. She is the founder and president of Pastoral Care Ministries.

Her books include: Real Presence, The Broken Image, Healing the Homosexual, Crisis in Masculinity, Healing Presence, Restoring the Christian Soul, and Listening Prayer.

She has taught for Wheaton College, in the graduate program in Christian Spirituality at Creighton University, as well as for University of the Nations. She holds both a BA and MA from Wheaton College as well as an MA from the University of Arkansas. Mrs. Payne was also a research fellow at Yale Divinity School.

Reviews

[Jack Magruder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crew! I liked this book. Honestly, regardless of Listening and Healing Prayer elements, it was just a really great primer on how to have an authentic Quiet Time. I'd recommend this book even for "beginner" Christ-followers. However, whereas i initially assumed that this would mean that the book would be a little dull (i mean... i've been having a "Quiet Time" for nearly 25 years), i was wrong. I found the opposite. Payne does a great job of the following:
1) Outlining how to have a Prayer Journal and why you should have one.
2) How to pray through the Lord's Prayer as a model for Personal Cleansing and Connection to God.
[The above 2 represent the first 1/2 of the book]
3) How to engage Listening Prayer.
4) Some "Do's" and "Don'ts" with Listening Prayer
[The above 2 represent the second 1/2 of the book]

Payne is not a "head in the clouds" author, thinker or prayer-warrior. While she references CS Lewis and a variety of church Fathers and Mothers alongside copious Scripture, you also get the very distinct perspective that if you could see her spiritual knuckles, they'd be bloody and scarred with years of having lived out her faith with a simultaneous tenderness but unbelievably gritty pragmatism that has had to put her faith to test over and over.

Generally, i also liked that she is very "Kempo" in her perspectives on Listening Prayer. In Kempo, there are no "blocks". Kempo doesn't waste time or energy on anything less than vital strikes. It keeps the main goal (i.e defeating an opponent) the main goal rather than allowing for time and space to basically wear yourself out in cool looking but needless moves or blocks or techniques that don't accomplish much. Similarly, Payne doesn't spend a ton of time talking about techniques for how to defeat the Enemy, but rather just talks about how focusing on God inevitably makes that process more evident and easier. She constantly lifts her eyes and heart Heavenward rather than earth or hellward, and i liked that about her.

Specifically, she does target the following in terms Listening Prayer:
* "Practicing the Presence" as a way of cultivating the right "atmosphere" for Listening.
* "Obedience" as a way of cultivating the right "attitude" for Listening.
* Hindrances to Listening Prayer (specifically helpful for me were the issues of "Head/Heart Disconnect" and our tendency as Westerners to focus on Experiences over simply engaging God for Himself).
* "Maturity" as basically the "Point" of Listening Prayer.
* "Ways" that God speaks through Listening Prayer. This part was particularly helpful as Sami and i have tried to figure out the "difference" between "what is 'just us' and what is 'actually God speaking'?" She offers that the following are key ways that God speaks through Listening Prayer:
-- Scripture.
-- "Audible Voice" (like when God spoke to Samuel in the Bible).
-- Specific Experiences with coordinating Audible or Inaudible Voices.
-- Specific Experiences without coordinating Audible or Inaudible Voices (note: basically, she outlines this as just such a profound experience that she simply cannot/does not question that it was from God. In her case, her example is a profound "baptism in the Spirit" experience she had as an adult).
-- Angels.
-- "God's still small voice". Note: she almost makes this sound like more of a "sense" about something than an actual audible voice sort of experience.
-- Other people.
-- Dreams and Visions. Note: she also gives some guidance on distinguishing what they are and how to interpret or validate them, which i thought was helpful.
-- Creation.
-- Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Note: she argues that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are actually gifts given with the intention of building up the Body of Christ, but also to enable us to better hear and be directed by God.

She's not saying that these are the "only" ways that God speaks, but are probably some of the more prominent.

Finally, the back chapters of the book are reserved for some incredibly tactical suggestions on avoiding Neognosticism (my most common fear and objection to much of the Listening/Healing Prayer curricula), both in one's own prayer life and experience and also corporately. Old world Gnosticism emphasized a sort of "special knowledge" that only a few people had, wrapped everything in mystery and made faith a more emotional, mystical, hidden sort of experience than it ought to be (mind you, faith IS all of those things, but it is not ONLY those things). Neognosticism, then, is our cultures predilection toward mystical experiences (because we tire of the Star Trek view of the Universe that is essentially bland and where "science has an answer for everything") but without any sort of guiding rod or grounding point to keep us on the True Path of Faith and following Christ. Payne handles this well by an insistence that an overt focus on "self" rather than God, an enraptured-ness that centers on emotion and experience rather than God, a tendency toward a sort of Christian Psychoanalysis for our own "feeling good about ourselves" rather than God all lead to Listening Prayer going astray into something that is more cultic and dangerous, whether at the individual level or the corporate level.

I would say that even not having read any of her other works yet, this book would probably be a really good starting point in terms of practical ways to engage not only Listening Prayer, but basic spiritual practices that incorporate Listening Prayer principles and revitalize practices that i personally needed to have some new life poured into (like my "daily quiet time").

[Juli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is full of Jesus but it's a bit cumbersome. After realizing that I wasn't going to be able to follower her recommendations on the prayer journal (I felt like I had to spend 23 hours a day doing it to do what she does) I tried to stop being overwhelmed and just read and receive. She references her other books quite a bit so perhaps this was a bad one to start with. I love Leanne's heart and her gifts - they are amazing but I think the trick for me is learning from her in a way that I don't try to become her or someone I'm not. I didn't love this one but feel like I probably need to reread it.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listening prayer seems to be a pet doctrine of Payne's that lacks scriptural support.

It seems there are two extremes in the Church today concerning hearing the voice of God: One extreme states that God no longer speaks directly to believers -- ever -- and that everything you will ever need to know is contained in the Bible. So, if you think you need any further information from Him, then you're just out of luck. The other extreme states that God is constantly jabbering away, and that if you would simply "tune in," you would receive a continual flow of information from Him. And then it explains that if you're not consistently receiving words from God, the problem of course is that: a) you're just not listening, b) you're not reading the Bible and praying enough, c) you have unconfessed sin in your life, and/or d) you are in need of healing prayer to remove any "blocks" to hearing Him. Finally, we have the scriptural view: God is fully capable of communicating with His children, and at times He does speak to them. However, He decides exactly when and where and how this will occur. And while He certainly wants His children to listen when He speaks, He doesn't want them to become obsessed or anxious about hearing from Him or receiving special revelation, but instead wants them to walk by faith and believe His promise that He will never leave them nor forsake them, even if they don't see any special "sign" of it.

It seems to me that "listening prayer" is Payne's pet doctrine. This practice is also known as "contemplative prayer," and I have yet to see any direct support for it in the New Testament. For instance, do we ever read any of the following?

"Jesus retired to a secluded place to listen to His Father."
"The apostle Paul sat down and listened."
"Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. And then He instructed them, 'After you have finished praying, listen for God's response.'"
"In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and then listen for His response."

I don't think so. In fact, she refers to "listening prayer" as the "third step" of prayer, an idea that is found nowhere in the Bible. So, exactly where does Payne get her ideas from? I'm not sure, but listening prayer seems to be a form of Eastern mysticism dressed in Christian garb. Now, as I mentioned earlier, it is definitely scriptural to listen when God wants to speak, and the New Testament does mention that. But nowhere are we commanded to just sit around in silence, expecting God to suddenly speak to us. This doesn't mean that we are not to be quiet and still before God at times, but that's different from actively listening for some kind of special "message." Furthermore, the Bible never makes listening to God a specific form of prayer, as Payne does. And where exactly does the Bible say that God is continually sending out words to us?? Again, Payne's ideas seem to lack scriptural basis and in many ways are just plain goofy. As one minister has written, this theory about God always speaking to us seems to be so appealing because it represents a quick, easy fix. I think he's right. I mean, isn't this basically the same reason that people consult mediums and read their daily horoscopes -- to have an instant "hotline" to secret information from the spirit world? It's ironic that in this book she warns about the dangers of "personal prophecy" and also states the following: "There is such a thing as spiritual lust. Like the more physical lusts, we must uncover and deal with the motives behind it." Can Payne not see that her pet doctrine about continually receiving some kind of special "word" or "gnosis" from God seems to be rooted in essentially the same thing? If God wants to speak to us, fine, but we shouldn't be trying to strong-arm Him into doing so.

Payne seems to use listening prayer as the solution to everything. Is your kitchen sink clogged? Don't know what to do? Try listening prayer. Does your little finger hurt? Try listening prayer. Are the rabbits eating up all the lettuce in your garden? Try listening prayer. I'm using some hyperbole here, of course, but you get the idea. Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with praying about such matters, but afterward you probably need to exercise your thinking skills and not just sit around for hours in silence, expecting God to magically drop some "message" or "revelation" down on you from heaven. In addition, Payne never gives any kind of guidance about when you should seek wisdom from God and when you should just make up your own mind about something. For instance, should you really pray about what flavor of ice cream to have for dessert? Or which shoe to put on first in the morning? Obviously, those examples may seem rather ludicrous, but wisdom about this kind of thing isn't always obvious to baby Christians, and Payne seems completely oblivious to the extremes to which her teachings could be taken.

Probably the most practical and helpful advice that she gives in this book concerning seeking special wisdom from God actually comes from another author, F. B. Meyer:

"We must seek information for our mind....God has given us...wonderful faculties of brain‑power, and He will not ignore them...It is of the greatest importance, then, that we should feed our minds with facts, with reliable information, with the results of human experience, and (above all) with the teachings of the Word of God...There is no harm in our taking pains to gather all reliable information, on which the flame of holy thought and consecrated purpose may feed and grow strong...[and then] His voice may come to us through the voice of sanctified common‑sense, acting on the materials we have collected. Of course at times God may bid us act against our reason, but these are very exceptional; and then our duty will be so clear that there can be no mistake. But for the most part God will speak in the results of deliberate consideration, weighing and balancing the pros and cons. When Peter was shut up in prison, and could not possibly extricate himself, an angel was sent to do for him what he could not do for himself; but when they had passed through a street or two of the city, the angel left him to consider the matter for himself. Thus God treats us still. He will dictate a miraculous course by miraculous methods. But when the ordinary light of reason is adequate to the task, He will leave us to act as occasion may serve."

(Incidentally, Payne condenses passages from Meyer in an appendix, but she never uses any ellipses (...). So, it's hard to know exactly when she's omitted stuff that Meyer wrote. For instance, a sentence in the quotation above appears in Meyer's original work but not in Payne's book. It's very sloppy for an author to do this kind of thing, and Payne should know better.)

I like Meyer's mention here of "sanctified common sense." In other words, as Proverbs 16:3 promises, if we lean on God, He will establish our thoughts/plans, but that doesn't conveniently excuse us from having to think for ourselves. Most of the time, He expects us to do what we can, not just wait around lazily for Him to send along some "magical" instructions.

Speaking of pet doctrines, Payne seems to have another one as well: practicing the Presence. She's always talking about how important it is to "practice the Presence." This sounds like a good thing, but where exactly does the Bible tell us to do this? Yes, we should continually affirm that God is with us, stay in continual prayer, and praise and thank Him often. However, I have yet to see an example of anyone in the Bible ever "practicing the Presence."

Another serious problem with the book is Payne's seeming idolatry of C. S. Lewis. Her motto seems to be: "If C. S. Lewis said it, it must be true!!!!" Unfortunately, Lewis held many heretical views. For instance, he believed that macroevolution was a perfectly valid explanation for the origin of life. He also did not believe in the inerrancy of the Scriptures, and felt that the story of Adam and Eve, among others, might simply be a myth. There are many other disturbing things he believed as well. In addition, it is said that, as a university professor, he would often go out with his students and get drunk. Furthermore, when he was in his 50s, he married an American divorcée, even though a prominent bishop in the Anglican Church told him that this was wrong and refused to give him the Church's blessing. It's shocking that Payne quotes from Lewis continually, but never gives any warnings about him. My guess is that she failed to do her homework, and was ignorant of Lewis's serious flaws.

In a nutshell, Payne's teachings on "listening prayer" seem to be way out of balance, and don't really line up with what the Bible teaches. God wants us to be seeking Him, not some special message or revelation from Him. Nevertheless, this book does offer a lot of helpful insights in many areas. It also describes valid ways in which God may speak to His children, including dreams, which are supported by Scripture. So, I think this book is definitely worth reading, but its main premise is flawed. Anyway, if you can get past that, then you should be able to find many nuggets of truth in here that will help you in your Christian walk. But just remember to "test" everything that you read, as the Bible commands us in 1 Thess. 5:21.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book with some fine teaching, but unfortunately the author doesn't practice much of what she preaches.

This book is filled with interesting insights. In the end, though, it doesn't really tell you how to hear the voice of God. Basically, it lacks practical advice and examples. In fact, Ms. Payne even comes out and says point-blank: "I can write on *how to* put together a prayer journal, but I cannot write on *how to* hear from God." Frankly, that sounds like a cop-out, especially since the book's subtitle is "Learning to Hear God's Voice." Actually, I think the book is mistitled, because at least half of it isn't directly about listening prayer per se. A more accurate title would be: "Ruminations on Prayer, Including Listening Prayer." Her book is a lot like a cookbook that discusses food for the first 200 pages and then gives you 5 recipes at the end. Overall, it seems that she is frequently answering the questions that nobody is even asking.

The reason I'm giving the book four stars is that it contains a lot of fascinating discussions. If I were rating it strictly on its ability to teach a person about listening prayer, it would get at most three. In addition, Ms. Payne's recommendations for keeping a prayer journal are interesting but seem rather cumbersome, especially for those with limited time.

Basically, Ms. Payne's approach seems to lack simplicity. Keeping a prayer journal is certainly an admirable pursuit, but everyone's needs differ. Did the saints of the Early Church keep prayer journals? I don't know, but if so, I suspect that they were a lot simpler.

In spite of the book's shortcomings, overall Ms. Payne gives excellent advice and instruction in many areas, such as thanksgiving and praise, intercession, petition, forgiveness, etc. And throughout the book, she quotes from many different authors, bringing a certain richness to the book. For instance, she frequently draws on the wisdom of C.S. Lewis and Oswald Chambers, and she provides some extremely helpful quotes from M. Scott Peck's book "People of the Lie," which shed a ton of light on abusive behavior. She also gives useful pointers from F.B. Meyer on seeking God's guidance. At its best, this book is full of wisdom and sound advice. Of course, all authors have their blind spots, and Ms. Payne does come across as rather black and white in her thinking at times (in a way that the saints of the New Testament did not), so there were a few things in the book that I didn't completely agree with. However, most of them were fairly minor, except for some points I'll bring up shortly.

At times, Ms. Payne even gives some practical examples on listening prayer too. For instance, she tells about a word from God that helped prevent one of her associates from becoming the victim of a robbery. Unfortunately, such examples are few and far between. Much of this book reads like an academic treatise. And she never truly answers the all-important question: "How do I know if what I 'heard' really came from God?" The fact is, we tend to hear what we want to hear. She does mention that we need to test all things, but ultimately gives very few details on how to do so.

Although she does cite some Scriptures, Ms. Payne never gives any solid evidence that the saints in the New Testament practiced what she teaches. Where exactly in the Bible does Jesus (or any of the apostles) specifically mention "listening prayer"? Certainly, there are times to be quiet and still before God, but to teach listening prayer as a practice seems to be a mistake because it appears to go beyond what the Bible itself actually teaches. In the Bible, it seems that God always initiated any speaking to His followers and decided when and where this was going to occur. However, in her model, it seems you set aside the time and then expect God to speak to you, which is actually pretty presumptuous. While it is certainly helpful that she teaches us to keep our spiritual ears open for when God does speak, she almost seems to turn God into a vending machine, creating the impression that a Christian is supposed to listen to God about *everything*, and to expect a definitive response each time too. She basically makes listening prayer a magic bullet--almost an idol, even. I really don't think the Bible models that. In fact, her method even borders on the sin of divination IMO. In their book "Healing the Wounded Spirit," John and Paula Sandford discuss a friend who erred in similar fashion: "On the surface, it seems like trying to listen to God about all things is good. But God does not want to reduce us to slaves or robots. He has given us good minds, and He expects us to use them. Moreover, questioning revealed that our friend had been fearful of failure. He would use 'listening to God' to be overly certain. That became the sin of divination. Had God wanted to steer him away from one [way] to another, the Lord would have taken the initiative to speak....The Lord let him listen to a wrong voice...[which] was a rough way to learn, but it was certainly written on [his] heart to listen when God wants to speak, but not to push God to be his diviner." Oswald Chambers makes this point as well. (It is odd that while Ms. Payne seems to be extremely fond of quoting him, she neglects his quote on this matter altogether.) He states: "At first we want the consciousness of being guided by God, then as we go on we live so much in the consciousness of God that we do not need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing any other will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified God guides us by our ordinary choices, and if we are going to choose what He does not want, He will check, and we must heed....God instructs us...[and] guides our common sense, and we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually saying, 'Now, Lord, what is Thy will?'"

Speaking of turning Christians into slaves or robots, Ms. Payne makes several assertions in the book that lead one to believe that she considers any active questioning of God, debating with Him, or expressing frustration or even anger with Him to be "unbelief" or "slander." IOW, in their relationship with God, Christians are always supposed to be passive and tame--in some ways almost like robots. Not only do I disagree with her view, I don't think the Bible supports it either. Sarah Bowling, the daughter of Marilyn Hickey, really gets to the heart of the matter in the following comments on her blog: "I think that some people won't allow themselves to be mad or disappointed with God for fear of being disrespectful. Other folk go so far as to totally alienate any contribution or participation from God in their lives because of their anger, hurt, or disappointment with God. Is there a healthy middle point? Can a person be angry, frustrated, hurt, disappointed with God but still keep their relationship with Him?....Being honest with God is a necessary ingredient for intimacy with God....I think the idea of working through a conflict with God is even more important than when we work through a conflict w[ith] our spouse. I don't think that God is into a passive intimacy with us, where we just roll over & play dead. Think about some of the great men in the Bible: Job, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Peter, . . . . These men all had conflicts with God - good honest 'fights' where they disagreed with God, wrestled with Him, challenged His integrity, confronted the discrepancies in the world with God's character & sometimes just flat out debated with God. If we genuinely want a close relationship with God, there will be times when we will disagree with Him & I don't think this makes Him nervous. Engaging with God whether through intense love or frustration & even anger is better than indifference & passivity. There is such a thing as a 'right fight.'" As Bowling concludes, certainly there are right ways (as well as wrong ways) of expressing anger, etc., toward God. Unfortunately, displaying some of her black and white thinking, Ms. Payne seems to lump all the ways together as being "wrong." Using her criteria, one could even classify Christ's agonized cry on the Cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" as "unbelief," which would obviously be completely nuts.

Ms. Payne also teaches that God is always speaking to us, and that we need only have the ears to listen. Although she seems basically well-meaning in this teaching, where does the Bible actually state that? As far as I can tell, that is merely her opinion. In fact, I think that Pat Robertson, with whom I disagree on a lot of issues, hits the nail on the head when he states the following: "How annoying are the superspiritual who always say, 'God told me this -- God told me that -- God told me this other.' It seems that their every thought is a revelation from God. God does not customarily operate that way. He speaks to us, but He does not chatter away, day in and day out, the way some people claim He does. This has been my experience, and it is the concept that is in accordance with the biblical record." Unfortunately, Ms. Payne does seem to think God chatters away 24/7.

There are problems with the mechanics of the book as well. First, it completely lacks an index. The writing itself is also pretty sloppy and poorly proofread. Here's one of the biggest blunders (from p. 83): "Already we know who's [sic] strength he went in...." Then we have (from p. 46): "The way our actions compliment [sic] grace...." And yet another gaffe (from p. 104): "Like the protection the blood on the lentil [sic] post symbolized...." (My version is from 1997. Apparently the last gaffe has been corrected in later editions, but it's mind-boggling that it ever made it through in the first place, showing how careless the proofreading seems to have been on this book.) I could give more examples, but those three should suffice. Furthermore, at times Ms. Payne's writing is bloated and pretentious, lacking clarity. Sometimes, even after reading a sentence or paragraph half a dozen times, I still didn't completely understand what she was trying to say. On a humorous note, Ms. Payne's writing style reminds me a bit of the flowery way that the character Jane Hathaway used to speak on the old TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies." For instance, one day in Mr. Drysdale's office, she launched into a little tirade against a certain female client who was there also. After Miss Jane had finished, the client immediately turned to Mr. Drysdale and, with a puzzled look on her face, asked: "What'd she say?????" His response: "Don't ask me." :)

Unfortunately, Ms. Payne often asserts her opinions as facts too. In one instance, she does so while tackling a truly bizarre topic. For instance, she writes: "It must be said, too, that there are certain kinds of prayers that God cannot answer. As usual, C.S. Lewis says it best: 'Can a mortal ask questions which God cannot answer? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable. How many hours are there in a mile? Is yellow square or round? Probably half the questions we ask...are like that.' Nonsense questions come from out of the depths of our foolishness....I have noticed that nonsense questions usually have more than a tinge of unbelief and even atheism to them." First off, do you know anybody who has ever asked God a question like that? I certainly don't. Even so, the Bible is silent on the matter. To say that God, who created the universe, "cannot" answer such questions is just plain ridiculous. God has a sense of humor--I'm sure there are an infinite number of ways He can answer silly questions. But since the Bible says nothing at all about this, why does she feel the need to go into a topic so strange and to assert her opinions so strongly about it in the first place? As I mentioned earlier, it seems Ms. Payne is often delving into matters that most people couldn't care less about.

At one point, Ms. Payne discusses a couple of members of a prayer group she once belonged to who, she says, had the gift of exhortation: "[They] knew how to exhort, and exhorted fearlessly. If someone was out of order, or not quite on target, they were told. This is extremely important in learning; we all need it....When I first came into the group...I did not dare open my mouth [to pray]. On the third time when I was 'passed' over and did not participate, Helen...shook my knee...and said, 'Next time, you speak, or you don't come back!'....On another occasion, a young Pentecostal man came in...[to receive] the baptism in the Spirit....[and] started wailing and doing all the things he had seen people do in hopes of receiving....I shall never forget what Helen did....She...gave the young man a shake, and said quite firmly: 'Stop that behavior young man! It is not necessary!'" Helen's "exhortations," which Ms. Payne admires, actually seem rather controlling, insensitive, and harsh to me. Each time, Helen shook another person (in public no less), and basically barked out an order (one even containing a threat!) over something pretty minor. Is that really the biblical meaning of exhortation? A commentary on the Web says this: "The word 'exhortation' today often carries a connotation of harshness, and that is actually incorrect. The Greek word 'parakalon' in Romans 12:8 is literally translated 'encouragement'...and refers to the often gentle actions of one who 'comes alongside' to offer comfort, counsel and encouragement....Although it does not exclude the possibility of rebuke, the emphasis is on the positive." Overall, the Bible places a lot of weight on gentleness and meekness. However, Helen's "exhortations" quoted above seem rather bossy and fleshly instead. Gal. 6:1 comes to mind, and that verse is talking about sin--the incidents in this anecdote did not even involve sin, so wouldn't gentleness be called for all the more? And where does the Bible ever give a blanket command to "exhort fearlessly"?? In fact, if you're overeager to correct everyone around you, chances are that you have a "beam" in your own eye. I'm just concerned that Ms. Payne holds up these so-called exhortations as an example. In addition, she mistakenly states that exhortation is a gift of the Holy Spirit. The Bible does not list it explicitly as one of the nine gifts of the Spirit, although it does mention exhortation in Romans 12 as a gift given to certain believers. It all makes you wonder if Ms. Payne actually understands the biblical model of exhortation. Incidentally, she also doesn't seem to understand the biblical meaning of "binding and loosing." She's correct that it has nothing to do with demons, but she's mistaken in thinking that is has to do with freeing people from the effects of sin. Fortunately, there are various articles on the Web that give the correct definition of this biblical terminology.

Although Ms. Payne's research for this book is certainly impressive, sometimes you wish she would think for herself a little more. For instance, while C.S. Lewis was a brilliant author in many ways, she seems to be a bit too fond of quoting him at times, almost using him as a crutch. One big problem here is that she presents Lewis's writings as if they represent the epitome of orthodox Christianity. Unfortunately, Lewis held some seriously heretical doctrines. For instance, he believed that macroevolution was a perfectly valid explanation for the origin of life. He also didn't believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. And he thought that the story of Adam and Eve might well be just a myth—not something to be taken literally. In addition, apparently as a university professor, he was often known to go out with his students and get drunk. To learn more about the many heresies that Lewis believed, you can do a Web search for this article: "C. S. Lewis — the most beloved heretic." And to make matters worse, Lewis married a divorced woman, Joy Davidman, in 1956. He had sought the blessing of the Anglican Church, but the Bishop of Oxford refused to marry them because Joy had been divorced. Since the Anglican Church did not condone divorce, he would not give them his blessing. To be fair, Davidman's first husband William Gresham had been married before, so one could make a case that his marriage to Davidman was not a real marriage. Still, Lewis flat-out ignored the advice from the Bishop of Oxford and apparently found another bishop who would give him and Joy his blessing. At the very least, you could say that Lewis married a woman who had been living in adultery with another man for over a decade. Does that really sound like God's will to you?

Anyway, Ms. Payne devotes a couple of pages to a discussion of Lewis's definition of friendship--the sharing of common interests rather than the sharing of affection per se--quoting him as if he were gospel. However, while his definition of friendship does have some truth to it, it's clearly simplistic if you ask me (it basically states that friends don't care about one another as people). In fact, David and Jonathan's wonderful friendship would hardly have met that criterion, at least not in the beginning. Other examples from the Bible come to mind as well. In addition, this limited view of friendship doesn't really ring true with my own experiences, and I suspect many others would say the same thing. It's also kind of funny that this definition appears at the beginning of the chapter "Listening Prayer Is Friendship with God." Exactly how does Lewis's definition square with the main point of the chapter? Are Christians and God merely supposed to share "common interests"? :) At any rate, in reading this book, you do have to be patient with some of Ms. Payne's idiosyncrasies.

It's interesting that, while Ms. Payne seems to quote Lewis on so many different topics, including some on which his expertise is questionable, she neglects his insight entirely in an area that he has written profoundly about: unanswered prayer. In fact, it seems that Ms. Payne disbelieves in the notion of unanswered prayer altogether, as she blithely asserts, "That our God is faithful to hear and answer all prayer...is something I want to shout from the housetop....Except where there is unconfessed and consciously held sin, God hears our prayers and answers them." Then she shuts down any potential questioning with: "If we are foolish, we might charge God with not hearing us simply because the answers do not come as we would like or as quickly as we hoped." Don't get me wrong--I agree with what she is saying in general. However, she seems to oversimplify the matter, as if Christians are never ever supposed to wonder why they don't seem to be getting answers to their prayers, and then if they do they are of course just being foolish or else they obviously have unconfessed sin in their lives. Sorry, but that's just too convenient and easy. In certain ways, Ms. Payne just doesn't come across as very "real," and often seems to have pat answers (like Job's friends) for complex situations. I mean, do you know anyone who seems to have gotten answers to all of his or her prayers? I certainly don't. And it's comforting to know that even Lewis wrestled deeply with this topic, yet never arrived at any completely satisfying answers. Unfortunately, Ms. Payne seems to think she has the matter all figured out, displaying still more of her black and white thinking.

Unfortunately, my entire review won't fit here on Goodreads. To read the rest of it, please visit the LibraryThing Web site. Thank you. :)

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

someone needs to take her ideas from this book and others and distill them down in a more readable format

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recording God. I have kept a journal for some years now. Most of the time I have kept it up consistently. Currently, I am taking my journal more seriously and have become more concerned about the quality of the record and the journal's ultimate purpose. This is where Leanne Payne comes in. Using the template of the Lord's Prayer, Payne recommends a way of keeping a journal which facilitates your relationship with God. The main point seems to be that a journal can be used to record your prayers to God and God's answers. Payne practices what she preaches and has clearly built the model into her life. I found her guidelines and tips helpful and have been suitably motivated to take on board her suggestions for my own journalling.

[Zach Tychsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on how to practice listening prayer

This is a good book on how to practice listening prayer on a daily basis and a great model for daily communion times. There are many topics covered and at times it can be very difficult to follow.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. On a practical level it has helped me shape my Bible reading and prayer time in a way that works with children constantly asking for attention. But I also feel that I need to read it again because it's so deep and I feel like I've missed stuff.

[Floyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply spiritual book still so relevant for today and will be helpful for generations to come.

[Lois]

How to make a prayer notebook.

[David Daniel]

This is a life changing book

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book to date. The spiritual growth that has come from her teaching has been invaluable to me. She has both wisdom and humility as she writes on how to have a listening relationship with the Lord. The principles that I have put into practice (i.e. starting a prayer journal, practicing His presence all day long) have changed my prayer life forever. I highly recommend this book! Some of her other books are a little heavier reading, but I felt that this one was pure pleasure to read. I was truly disappointed when I came to the end of the book. I love the quote by Paul Sweeney: "You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel as little as if you have lost a friend."

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

great, powerful book on listening prayer. I appreciate anything she writes. she's passionate, articulate, bright and an ardent seeker of God who has carried on quite a ministry of healing prayer called "Pastoral Care Ministries".

[Annamarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever want to know how to develop a great prayer life I highly recommend this book. It takes you through the process of how to think about your prayers. Excellent read and also an excellent group study book.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its amazing- I'm still reading- have been reading it for months- but its so rich with wisdom and direction that I am taking it slowly and journaling through it. Seriously incredible.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most comprehensive guideline for hearing God in prayer by means of a listening prayer journal. LOVE!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical book on how to learn to listen to God, how to journal and how to pray in a specific pattern (patterned after "The Lord's Prayer"). Very sound and Biblically based.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too detailed, but the wrong sort of details.

[Matthew Del Monte]

Reading again, for a second time.