The Voice of Jesus: Discernment, Prayer and the Witness of the Spirit

by Gordon T. Smith

Jesus takes it for granted that we will hear his voice. But how do we hear it? How do we separate it out from the cacophony of other voices we hear everyday, including those of our own desires? Is our experience of Jesus' voice something purely subjective, or is it something we can talk about with others and have them confirm? Building on the rich spiritual tradition that spans the diversity of history and theology from Ignatius Loyola to John Wesley to Jonathan Edwards, Gordon Smith opens our ears and hearts to the depths of the inner witness of the Spirit. By learning to attend to the Spirit, Smith urges us, we will learn to hear and heed the voice of Jesus in everyday life. Written with warmth and wisdom, this book speaks to the mind and heart of every Christian who longs for a closer, more intimate walk with Jesus.

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

260 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Gordon T. Smith is the president of Ambrose University and Seminary in Calgary, Alberta, where he also serves as professor of systematic and spiritual theology. He is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and a teaching fellow at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the author of many books, including Courage and Calling, Called to Be Saints, Spiritual Direction, and Consider Your Calling.

Reviews

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this twice this year. Has an academic style, though, so its audience is limited. If the book was about 2/3 of its size and edited for reading level, it'd be fantastic.

[Garland Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been trying to learn more about the spiritual discipline of discernment--simultaneously listening to the voice of God in every moment of the day and pressing into Him for more complex decisions. I have become more convinced over the last months that an intimate walk with God through Jesus Christ will result in an ability to consistently know his will and make decisions accordingly (Rom. 12:2 indicates this).
Gordon Smith's book contains both a robust theology of discernment as well as a pastoral concern for practical implementation. It is not a fast read, but it is well worth the time and effort to learn how to better hear the voice of God through the Holy Spirit's witness in our lives.
I would highly recommend this book to any maturing Christian to serve as a resource for helping us carry out God's "good, pleasing and perfect will." In particular, I would recommend it for ministry leaders who have a tendency of making decisions based on what is most practical for the work of the ministry rather than based on where God is leading both individually and corporately.
My only complaint with the book is that it is not in Kindle format. As a result, I have had to type in all the quotes and notes that I have taken from the book--which has resulted in over 20 pages of typing. Well worth it, though.

[Abben Hung · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that begins to unpack the process of hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. My original reasoning for reading this book was the question of, "How do I know if God is saying something to me? Is it by random chance or fairy magic? How should I respond when others say that they have heard something from God?" Gordon Smith gives some clear processes and empirical guidelines about how to discern what God is saying, largely based on what previous saints have learned. One big takeaway that I learned was the importance of emotional maturity. Smith proposes that the primary thing that you discern when deciding what the Holy Spirit is saying is your own emotions. Therefore, it is critical that you understand and know what you are feeling. This book gave me some clarity in my own spiritual life to discern whether or not God is communicating to me, and whether or not my motivations are being directed by God. The second half of the book consists of how Smith applies these discernment principles in different circumstances such as deciding on career or making group/team decisions together. To be honest, I felt like Gordon could have been more concise explaining his examples because the principles were redundant between the first and second half. Overall, it's great book and would suggest to anyone wanting to learn about how the Holy Spirit speaks to us.

[Deborah]

Reviewed by Herb:
If I could only recommend one book this year on spiritual formation, this is it. Smith, a Canadian and former professor of spiritual theology at Regent College, writes about hearing the voice of Jesus amidst the cacophony of the multitudes of competing voices of the world around us. I learned a lot about spiritual discernment through this read and found particularly helpful his discussion of community discernment, something not often explored by the evangelical self-independent spirit. Do you know what Jesus is saying to you right now? This book might help you discover His voice in your life.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

I began reading this book years ago in hope that it would help me understand the Holy Spirit better. However, the author is very immersed in Roman Catholic mysticism. So, if you are into that thing, great. But I tend to try to stick closer to the mysticism which is described in the bible. My assessment is that this book strays from that notion.

[Bryan Bergman · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do we know what Jesus is saying to us? How can we be sure, especially since he ascended to the Father? Smith tries to answer these questions as precisely as possible.

For those in need of reassurance, he points to the Holy Spirit's work in making Jesus as present to us as he was to the Twelve. For those bogged down by differing theological voices, Smith draws common insights from Christians as distant as Ignatius of Loyola, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley. For those who want to learn how to discern the voice of Jesus, who are frustrated by vague spiritual advice, Smith brilliantly explains how sin and grace, heart and mind, Scripture and prayer, community and individual all factor into our capacity to hear.

Some points that stood out to me:
- Clarity about oneself and one's situation is an essential part of learning to listen. Know yourself, your feelings, thoughts, habits, and past. Know your situation, what the problems are as well as the good things. Smith helps you ask the right questions with the right posture — one of prayer.
- Assurance of God's love is the foundational work of the Spirit. The humility it takes to truly know yourself and to fully trust God, however he may lead, is only possible to the extent that you are secure in God's love for you. I am glad this comes in the early chapters. Otherwise, the whole book would be overwhelming. By God's grace we can discern a little better today, even without internalizing 266 pages of wisdom.

The book is dense and needs better editing. But it is full of insight and red with my highlights. Smith's advice is based mostly on experience — his pastoral ministry, his own spiritual life, and the experiences of Christians throughout history. To discern its worth, one might debate many points theologically, scientifically, and philosophically. However, one might also experiment with it, even in wrestling with its contents. If your goal is to know God, then test it in a posture of prayerful discernment. There is enough material for a lifetime.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives clear guidelines for discernment of God's will through the Holy Spirit. It explains why we have trouble hearing Jesus's voice in our lives (how our emotions and thoughts interfere) and what we can do to listen better. It also goes into communal discernment and figuring out how to hear the Spirit in our church and organizational decisions. I really believe that this is going to help me in going forward.

[Kirsten Kroeker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book, and will probably be my go-to recommendation on discernment. It is a dense read, so one to take your time with, but is immensely practical with notes on different prayer practices, group discernment, spiritual direction and ignatian discernment practices.

[Thomas Goertzen · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh...

[Deborah Bensted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful section on communal discernment and the pros and cons of different systems of decision-making.

[Alison Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Summer Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gordon T. Smith always comes through with a philosophically strong book that is also practical and filled with wisdom.

[Jasmine Fogwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read on this subject....but I am still left the questions..."but what does this actually look like?"

[Melinda Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of this book was repetitive for me, because of my interests, but I found phrases that I needed that clarified or upended some thoughts I’ve had that needed to be challenged or faced.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with insight and wisdom. Smith is writing about discernment in this book but the scope of things that he covers seems so far reaching and each subject he tackles was filled with new thoughts (or old thoughts I'd never come across or that I had and he just worded them better)and deep insight.

From looking at how important it is for us to not just know but to feel the assurance of God's love for us to the fostering of an attitude of "holy indifference" to practical guidelines on how to focus your time of prayer to how to be a spiritual director or how to discern in a community, there is so much great and challenging information in this book.

Chapter 7, titled "The Spirit Guides in Times of Choice" is on its own worth the price of the book.

This book is filled with words from someone who knows and feels the truth of what he's saying and he's not afraid to say tough and even potentially offensive things to his reader. I didn't feel like he held back. I would strongly recommend this to any Christian looking to grow deeper in God.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theologically sound. A deep book that you will want to read through with a highlighter and a notebook. Not the best choice for reading on a bus because you really want to be paying attention to everything you are gleaning from it.

[Jim Lyster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. I really appreciated the sections on individual and group discernment.

[CK · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a very important to my walk with Christ, really opened up my mind and heart on how to discern God's voice amongst competing voices, especially during decision-making.

[Matteo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtfully written on a much needed subject for our time.

[Cat Batya · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some good wisdom, but I didn't agree with everything. Became repetitive towards the end.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely valuable learning process for communing with the voice of Jesus (the Holy Spirit).

[JD Veer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but would not necessarily recommend