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Book Review: Hey God, Can We Talk? Real-life God Encounters for Real-Life Circumstances by Sarah Bowling

Summary: This book opens your eyes to confront fears about talking, praying to God. It provides ample examples from biblical encounters with the author’s experiences to help you understand the simplicity of conversing with God? Each chapter contains questions for reflection and conversation starters which help you focus on a particular prayer concern. I like how the author uses the word “talk” instead of “prayer” because it frees our traditional understanding of “praying” allowing us to understand that God talks to us when we pray.

It would be of a Reader’s best interest to read through the Table of Content and identify the chapter that presently resonates with them. Begin practicing that conversation starter, as suggested by the author, for 5 to 7 months (or as the Lord leads) before moving on to another chapter.

For Readers who read this book in its entirety. You find it is heavy with experiences from the author’s life and examples from the Bible which prolongs each chapter. I don’t recommend doing this if you have a specific concern. Take care of your concern about talking to God first, practice it until you feel lead to move on. 

Book Highlight: One highlight of the book is its conversation starters. Insightful examples of how to get started in a way that you can personalize it and then pray openly and honestly, because Sarah, the author, has given you the tools to get the conversation started. Another thing you will learn is that God is always there and ready, regardless of where you are, to be a part of the conversation. 

Final Thoughts: This is not a book you need to complete, but a book you need to apply in different seasons of your life. So take your time.

Next Step: Although, we have practiced some of the conversation starters on Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast, chapter 10 provided an experiment that we can participate in April. See Monthly Opportunities below.

You can share your comments below about the book. Check out Episode 27, where Sarah goes into more detail about this book on Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast. Thank you, Saints, for joining me in our February Opportunities for Growth activity of reading this book before broadcasting it on the podcast.  

Monthly OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH - April

April Challenge: Join me in practicing one of the Conversation Starters for the next two weeks from Hey God Can We Talk. Here’s the simple version: “Give God 3 minutes of undivided attention 3 times a day for 2 weeks. Then, document daily your feelings, benefits, frustrations, or effect.” Let’s summarize our experiences in the comment section below on April 24th. I’ll send you a reminder link, so you’ll need to subscribe (see #4 below). Also get the book because it gives examples of what to do during those times and ways God might converse with you. 

Remember, you are practicing how to converse with God, so begin the process today:

• Select 3 times, spread out throughout your day, now. Just for 3 minutes.
• Then set your timer with a reminder to set the times for the next day. 
• During those 3 minutes you can give your full attention to God by listening, reciting a scripture or memorizing one. More examples are given in the book in chapter 10 of Hey God, Can We Talk?
• Click on this link to join and subscribe to this blog: Link here
• Once you subscribe, you will receive a link to share your last comments on 4-24-21 on Facebook, Instagram or the comment section below. Together we will help each other to grow.

Spiritual Disciplines discussed on Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast: Prayer, Bible Study, and Worship

Shalom!