Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

Words with God by Addison Bevere. I was pretty excited about this one when I first saw the title and read the description about the book. The first few chapters have a great story hook by the author about how he had a burnout on his job, was losing his faith in God and so on. He then describes how he takes a sabbatical to find himself. However, what ruined it for me, was that it turns out Bevere is part of this huge Pentecostal "non-profit" missionary group. Not just a part of it, but the CEO. He makes millions compared to us common people. He had burnout from a million dollar CEO job. While I know this is a lot of pressure for a man, to have the ability to pick up and go on a sabbatical without any financial risk or repercussions, then tell me to pray for miracles, didn't really settle well with me. Just the tone of the book changed for me at that point.

Words with God; Trading Boring, Empty Prayer for Real Connection by Addison D. Bevere. I honestly loved this book and would recommend it regardless of where you are at in your prayer life. Prayer is such an important aspect in the Christian life so it is important to have spent time intentionally thinking about your prayer life.
There are many stories that are shared in the book that can encourage or challenge you depending on where you are at but nonetheless are thought provoking.
There are two quotes that I stood out to me that I wanted to share. The first is “But a sacred place is any place where God is present” and the second is “Eventually I realized that constant prayer is a place of rest, not another form of striving. It is a rest of the heart, a holy deep breath.”
This is a great book to go through on your own or with a small group.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a refreshing reminder of the amazing invitation extended to us to be in close relationship with the one who created all things.

This is a great book, it helps to guide your prayers to be more intentional .Which can lead us to know the spiritual reality of his presence.

The Word of God is written with great care, authenticity, and transparency. I will keep this book in my library cataloged amongst some of my favorites - Dutch Sheets, Andrew Murray [the missionary not the tennis pro], and Thomas Merton.

Most reassuring is the quote “The Accuser has no right to dictate or deny our prayers.” And how silence in the canyon is our pathway home to hearing God, referred to as “the Voice.”

It is wonderful when a book is written and describes all the things oneself thinks of but not yet crafted the words to express oneself’s thoughts. You will find Word of God helps to fill in gaps, diminishes unfounded misconceptions, and encourages one to experience the beauties of striving forward in a life of integrated prayer that gives “the Voice…the final word.”

Addison is transparent in the pain that led him to write this book. He challenges us to look at the ‘image’ we have of God that is in accordance with our experiences. For the first time since I have been a Christian I have been challenged to look for the REAL God of the Bible, the God that Jesus stated in John 12:45 ‘if you see Me then you have seen the Father’, and not just the image I make up. This is causing me to read the scriptures differently, to purposely look for the REAL GOD, not the image I may make up. I also have discovered through this book why I do some of the things I do and am hopeful that the Holy Spirit will reveal and teach even more. Insightful and flowing reading.

Prayer in three (3) parts. Part one looks at recognizing the Voice of God vs the Voice of the Adversary. While the concept of the quiet voice is fairly de rigueur the analogy with a Canyon Echo was a bit of a stretch for me. There were a few interesting observation though, such as life on the canyon wall switchbacks, our tendency to want answers immediately (just can’t wait) and the role of pain/suffering in spiritual growth (a common Catholic view point) Part two tries to give us a useful definitions of the Kingdom of God and our place in it (aka there should be no separation of secular and sacred), as well as the need to practice being good. No new revelations for me here; however, I will acknowledge that for most it might be. Part three seems to look a basic characteristics of prayer, presumable to make prayer better. There is no formula or strict steps to take, and this is pitched as a good thing, because reducing prayer to that would actually make it less effective … although the author does introduce at least three (3) prayer frameworks that appear to do just that: The Examen, The Office and Lectio Divina.

As with many personal/anecdotal stories that are used to buttress the concepts the author is trying to teach, they all run the risk that they just don’t connect with a reader that has a markedly different experience and/or world view and that can undermine the point somewhat. One particular example was the idea shared by many christians that you need to [wake up early and] withdraw [into a closet] to engage in structured prayer in silence … none of which is true. To be fair, the author seems tp only hold on to the latter as a requirement … which is strange because he then goes into the pray without ceasing mantra that can only happen the you live your prayer amidst the noise and chaos of life. While I understood the sentiment, the wording was awkward for me because I didn’t connect with the premise. This disconnect was aggravated when he attempted to trace the original of the word “intimacy” to the latin “in timor” (into fear … which is actually the origin of the word intimidate) … and is something that none of the etymologies that I have access to would support. Such word games undermines my faith into the rest of his research (however, despite my misgivings, his research is generally good).

Ultimately there were several observation, opinions and interpretations that didn’t quite resonate with me despite the book having a number of true gems within it. One such example would be when it states that “There’s a sense that God can forgive only what is confessed, so we rack our brains, searching out any wrong done or right left undone. [Only] Once every item is confessed can we be on our way, hopefully feeling bad enough to never do those things again.” This is a decidedly Catholic sentiment that, having grown up in a Protestant tradition, just doesn’t resonate with me very well. That said, there is still enough here to make it worth the read.
Part 1: The Canyon
1. The Voice
2. Into Silence
3. The Prayer

Part 2: The Temple
4. What We Call God
5. Seeing the Kingdom
6. Opening the Conversation

Part 3: The Dance
7. The Integrator
8. I Am Here
9. How Should We Ask?
10. Confession, Sin, and Conscience
11. Me to We
12. Forgiveness
13. Trials, Temptations, and Joys
14. In the Name

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#WordsWithGod #NetGalley

This was my first experience reading this author's work and I really enjoyed the idea of this read -- making prayer a more natural aspect of my daily life and not a "ritual." I have to say that since the 2019 pandemic, my prayer life has totally changed for the better and I tend to "pray" to God all day long. When I read the blurb for this book, I figured if it helped my prayer life even more, that was a good thing! I enjoyed his way of thinking and explaining various various bible scriptures which opened my eyes in a different and interesting way. This is a thoughtful, interesting and unique book about prayer and one that I most definitely recommend. I'm grateful to have been given an opportunity to read an advance copy of this book through NetGalley.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Revell for gifting me this ARC for an honest review.

To be honest, I am one who struggles with prayer. At times, I find myself not enjoying that I get to communicate with the Creator. I tend to look at it as a chore. A ritual. A tradition. I take it for granted. I want to be able to get deeper into my prayer life. I’m tired of looking at it like I have and realize the beauty of being able to take anything to the Creator and converse with him.

This is my first Addison Bevere book. I loved his writing style. I have so many highlights. I loved what he said about prayer. I think God knew I needed this book because I was in a prayer rut. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be buying a physical copy.

This book made me stop and think am I praying because that is what I was told to do or am I praying to get closer to God? I love him pointing out that normally we pray for something be we don't put any action to it. His example was praying to be healthy but eating unhealthy and not taking care of our bodies. Most times the world treats God like a genie but that is not what prayer is. Addison does a great job at pointing out what prayer is and how we should pray. Highly recommending this book

Words With God is written in a way that allows the reader to go on the prayer journey with the author. The author is open with his struggles, thus allowing the reader to be comfortable with their own . Each chapter moved through the difficulties that people encounter when they are trying to talk to God.. The author gives solutions to the road blocks to prayer. This book is a guide for the new believer as well as a person who has been a believer for decades.

Words with God
Trading Boring, Empty Prayer for Real Connection
by Addison D. Bevere
Pub Date 18 Apr 2023
Revell
Christian | Religion & Spirituality



I am reviewing a copy of Words With God through Revell and Netgalley:


Words with God reminds us that prayer is a struggle for most of us. We are aware of the need for us to pray. We know it would be good for us help us be more grounded, more connected to God. But in our hurried lives, slowing down to pray can feel like a cosmic waste of time. Do our prayers even matter? What, if anything, happens when we pray? Are we having words with God or just words with ourselves?


Addison Bevere takes you into and through the tension of prayer--the struggles, the doubts, the answers--to the place where God makes himself real to you, in this thoughtful book.


If you are tired of boring, empty, transactional prayer then Words With God, this is the book for you.


I give Words With God five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Words with God is full of small revelations. Reading it is like driving a self-correcting car that nudges you away from the central reservation and into the lane of fuller truth.
For example, the author muses that seeing the Kingdom in action is seeing God's truth demonstrated on earth. Prayer is a means to participate in God's Truth, taking it from a 'thing we do' to being swept up in the Divine mission. Whst a change of perspective. For some reading, you're already there.
For me, I'm blinking in a new light. I'm on about a fifth of the way through the book. But I thoroughly recommend it.

This book will not necessarily show you how to pray. But it's filling me with new zeal because it speaks into the secret place from where we pray.

Words with God opened my eyes up to a totally different way about thinking of how I pray. It gave me the tools I needed to learn how to pray more effectively and be patient in my answers.

I enjoyed each chapter as I feel as though it increased my knowledge of how to pray more effectively and be more in touch with god.

I highly suggest picking up a copy of this book as it should be a road map to prayer.