In Experiencing Friendship with God, Faith Eury Cho shares a gentle blueprint formed by God's Word, her own experiences, and the ancient wisdom of Brother Lawrence for fostering a deeper friendship with God. The book is laid out in three parts - The Purpose of the Wilderness, Drawing Closer to God's Presence, and Living as a Friend of God. I was particularly drawn to the second part of the book.

I was expecting a little more about the wilderness throughout this book, but found it to be truly focused more on the basics of developing a deeper relationship with God in a more general sense. Nothing wrong with that, but just something to note if the "wilderness" aspect is what is drawing you to this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Waterbrook Publishing for a digital copy to read for review. All opinions are my own.

Experiencing Friendship with God
How the Wilderness Draws Us to His Presence
by Faith Eury Cho
Pub Date 17 Oct 2023
WaterBrook & Multnomah,WaterBrook
Christian


Through WaterBrook & Multnomah and Netgalley, I'm reviewing Experiencing Friendship with God:


In the wilderness of the soul, pain can be more familiar than progress, loneliness more familiar than company. What if our wandering isn't about getting to the Promised Land, but about recognizing that God is with us? 



In Experiencing Friendship with God, Faith Eury Cho draws on Brother Lawrence's ancient wisdom about intimacy with God to help us experience God's Presence more fully in today's complicated world. The book explores the tension of believing in God even when you can't sense Him with practical ideas and stories from her own spiritual journey. Find tools to deepen our intimacy with God embrace the paradox of mystery and faith, of longing and hope, glean wisdom from Israel's wilderness journey, and understand what it's like to live centered around God's Presence.


Our greatest desire is to know God's Presence, so even the wilderness has meaning. We realize that God is the purpose of each moment in that barren land. 

When we do that, we'll realize we never were without Him.


I give Experiencing Friendship with God five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I highly recommend this book. It is full of valuable nuggets, that will encourage you and possibly surprise you. I would describe it as a rich read. I read an electronic copy for review purposes.

This book is perfect for those wrestling with God's presence or for those who wish to grow in communion with Him throughout the day. Faith is a pastor in New Jersey and writes this book with a lot of influence from her reading Brother Lawrence's book "Practicing the Presence of God." She shares from Lawrence's text, her own personal experience, and God's word how impactful our friendship with God is in our everyday lives. She gives practical examples and tips for those who struggle to acknowledge God throughout the day or those who feel far from his presence. She writes in a way that is compassionate, honest relatable, inviting, and easy to understand. I loved that this was more about her experience in growing in her friendship with the Lord instead of a self help "follow these steps and it can be you too." Would recommend!

Hands down, this was the best book I read this year. It was easy to read, conversational in tone — but had so much depth and conviction. We complicate our spiritual lives, and Faith’s book encourages and challenges us to put our focus back on God — not only as Father, but also Friend. It was practical and Biblical, and I can’t stop telling everyone to read it.

Experiencing Friendship with God: How the Wilderness Draws Us to His Presence by Faith Eury Cho is an important book that every Christian should read. Here, you'll find an honest examination of hard things, or wilderness experiences. Why do they come? This book is a call to seek Jesus deeply, even in the bad times. It is a beautiful call to friendship with Jesus and finding in Him everything we need. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

The author draws the reader to consider and desire the awesome presence of the living God, believing in its life-transforming power. I found this book inviting and uplifting!

Experiencing Friendship With God provides a way to grow closer with God. I wasn't familiar with the author or her way of writing, so I didn't rate the review as high.

Faith Eury Cho’s book, Experiencing Friendship with God, tells about finding and walking with God during difficult times. Ms. Cho has had many of her own experiences of loss, struggles, and feelings of being far from God throughout her Christian walk. She is open and honest about her dark times, and she describes how she persevered, with the encouragement others and her persistent pursuit of God. She says that our friendship with God is a natural progression of our close relationship with him, of continually being in his presence. I found this book to be thought-provoking and encouraging as Ms. Cho challenges the reader to pursue God wholeheartedly.

I absolutely loved this book. Here is my review.

Have you always longed for a deeper friendship with the Lord but didn't know how to really go about it? Have you tried to read the word and pray, and be a "good Christian" but feel like you can't really get close to your Lord and Savior? I have too, so I have a book idea that helped me to understand how to go deeper into friendship with the Lord, and I learned that He wants that with me too, and all of us! (This is a review for NetGalley, where I received a free copy in return for my honest opinion.)

Faith Eury Cho felt this same way that I described, so she wrote this book Experiencing Friendship with God that I am reviewing here, and I can't recommend it highly enough! She takes her experiences, mixes them with the word of God, and shares how she developed a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. She writes in an easy way to understand, and explains how she was able to go deeper with God! This is not a how to do a friendship with God in 5 easy steps, but a book about a woman, and pastor, who felt like her relationship was mediocre at best, but found out that God was already drawing her to a deeper friendship, and so she said yes, Lord I want to go deeper with You. He responded by showed her how to do just that, and this book is her sharing that process.

I learned so much, and felt the Lord calling me to a deeper friendship as I read each page, so I am sharing this with you. It literally helped me come to the Lord's well, and drink deeply from His living water, and now I want to keep coming back for more!!! I rate it 5 out of 5 stars, and think it is extremely vital for all who are searching for a deeper relationship with Him!!

The book has a nice solid foundation and a good theological basis.

It is a good book, although describing how to experience God and practice his presence is a bit like nailing Jello to the wall.

I got a lot out of this book, and it’s the second in a row that I’ve read using Brother Lawrence and his book as a reference point.

Worth the time to read; lots of Scripture for reference , and good solid examples.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for a fair review.

Highly recommended.

Having been a Christian since childhood, I have read scores of books on Christian growth and maturity. Cho's book is the best of them all because she not only informs and encourages but gives practical suggestions as well.

This book is a result of her own journey combined with inspiration by Brother Lawrence. Cho wants her readers to experience an intimate, authentic and passionate friendship with God. She writes about her own experience of wilderness. She found that the wilderness experience revealed the fragile nature of her relationship with God. She felt God was not present and if He was present, He was not enough.

She realized knowing His presence was the purpose of the wilderness. It was really the purpose of everything. “...[Y]our friendship with God must be your highest priority and the center of all you do.” (289/2348) All of that is well said and has been said in other books. But the difference in this book is that Cho gives us practical ideas on how to do that.

She encourages us to embrace the mystery. She helps us in the skill of acknowledging the presence of the Holy Spirit. She gives ideas for developing spiritual muscles so that we go from co-existence to communion. She helps us get back on track when we wander off.

This is the most enlightening and practical book I have read on cultivating a real relationship with God. It is a book I'll read again and again. If there is one book you read about spiritual growth this year, make it this one. If you really want to abide in His Presence, even when you feel you are in the wilderness, read this book.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

This is a tremendous book with a much needed message for our times. Faith Eury Cho reflects on her own wilderness seasons and draws inspiration from Brother Lawrence's "The Practice of the Presence of God' to champion the notion that Jesus offers us His friendship in such challenging seasons.

So often we simply want God to get us out of our trouble (of course, we're just human) but what He always offers us is Himself, even if our season is prolonged. As Pastor Cho writes and validates with Bible references and Brother Lawrence's experiences, having Jesus as a friend helps us put them into perspective. He is our greatest gift and even in the worst of times, we can experience Him in a very tangible way to help us keep persevering.

Friendship with God is a popular theme at the moment with a number of books being released on the subject but what I appreciated about Pastor Cho's book was that she helped make it very tangible and accessible through her own experience, reflecting on Brother Lawrence and Biblical stories.

I did think the book would be enhanced with a study guide and/or a series of personal reflection prompts as often we all need a companion to help us put a book's content into practice. I'm hoping the publisher/Pastor Cho might have this on their radar for a subsequent release.

I was very fortunate to receive an early ebook copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley with no expectation of a positive review.

Drawing on the writings of Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Laurence, Faith Cho was written a book that shows how important seeking a genuine friendship with God truly is. I found the book to be engaging and her thoughts to be well laid out and appreciate her including so many personal stories. I found myself thinking a lot about my relationship with God and how I approach it and often felt convicted about what I need to work on. I also found some parts that resonated with me about how my church body could be impacting the world in a much greater way if we were to truly try to seek God and a relationship with Him together as a group.
I would recommend this book to those looking to grow their relationship with God into a true friendship.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley, and this review is my own opinion.