Shalom, everyone! Dani here, and I am so pleased to welcome Lyvita Brooks today! I hope her book review will be a blessing to you all! So without further ado, please welcome today’s guest post author, Lyvita!
Book Review Written by Lyvita Brooks: Hey God, Can We Talk? Real-life God Encounters for Real-Life Circumstances by Sarah Bowling
Hey God, Can We Talk? Real-life God Encounters for Real-Life Circumstances by Sarah Bowling is about confronting your fears of talking to God and ways to overcome those fears.
How many times do we have to be reminded that praying is talking to God and talking to God is praying? So, why do we still have a tendency to be afraid to talk to God? There could be many reasons but after reading, Hey God Can We Talk? Real-Life Encounters for Real-Life Circumstances, I found it to be helpful. It provides experiences and examples on how to confront one’s fears of talking/praying to God.
“What’s a Conversation with God?” that’s the first question this book discusses. We often think that we are talking to a God who is too big to be bothered with our minuscule concerns. And yet, that’s all God wants to do is have a conversation with us. If only we would sit still long enough to hear from Him, without the music, TV, and voices of others, we’ll begin to enjoy our alone times with God.
One of the best parts of this book are the Conversation Starters. It provides examples of how to start a personalized conversation with God until you are ready to go it alone. The author, Sarah Bowling, shares her and others’ experiences talking with God during different seasons of their lives. Then how to confront those fears around talking with God, instead of to God.
In chapter 6, Sarah describes a friend’s meltdown which turned into a discussion of accusations and of questioning God. I know I have. And yet, we all likely have in some way or another. This chapter teaches you how to change your questions of demanding God to explain or justify Himself to asking questions that will draw you closer to Him. True this will take practice and time. That’s where the Conversation Starters come in handy.
I like how the author uses the word “talk” instead of “prayer”. This changes our traditional understanding of “praying”. It allows us to understand that God talks to us when we pray. He not only listens but speaks…a conversation…and we need to be still enough to hear Him.
Hey, God Can We Talk? is one of those books that you can learn from and grow as you need it. Begin by reading through the Table of Contents and identifying the chapter that resonates with you. The read it and practice the Conversation Starter, as suggested by the author, and as the Lord leads, move on to another chapter. This is not a book you need to complete at one sitting. It is a book to apply in different seasons of your life. So take your time.
About the Writer: Lyvita Brooks is a writer, bible teacher, host of Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast and founder of The Me Project Academy. You can subscribe to her newsletter at www.lyvitabrooks.com where she writes “on matters concerning managing your focus so you can commune with God intentionally and daily.”
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