SURPRISED BY THE VOICE OF GOD
BY JACK DEERE

Reviewed by Brian Finnegan, Dublin

Before reading this book I was of the opinion that all Christian literature (apart from the Bible) fell roughly into one of two camps; teaching or testimony. That which engages the head verses that which tugs at the heart, objective truth versus subjective experience. Belief or Behaviour.

I rarely even had to open a book to establish the nature of its content. Judging books by their cover has always been an enjoyable pastime. ‘Teaching’ books are distinguishable (by and large) by their darker monochrome covers, literal titles and suitably sombre font selection. On the other hand ‘testimony’ (or inspirational, or visionary) books are notable for their compulsive use of clouds, rainbows, sunlight and beguilingly mysterious titles.

‘Surprised by the Voice of God’ does not fit either of my comfortingly familiar stereotypes - looking at the spine in isolation it could pass as a Jeffery Archer novel (all that gold writing), while the front cover is scarily like one of the ‘higher state of consciousness’ books you see advertised by book clubs in Sunday newspaper supplements. Intriguing. With hindsight, it is probably a good thing that I already believed that God speaks today in a multitude of ways before I read this book. I knew prior to turning a page that I would probably agree with what the author was saying. This caused me to let my guard down and so I was totally unprepared for the spiritual onslaught that was to come. But back to the book.

The content of the book is beautifully balanced in that it is both strongly persuasive and at the same time careful to advise caution. The overwhelming impression I get of the author is of a man who is highly intellectual and a very able academic, but who has transported by supernatural means to a place where his confidence in human intelligence has been dramatically curtailed. It came as a great relief to me that he does not relate his experiences in a way that exalts himself, his ministry or his church. In fact the opposite is the case - he repeatedly points out that pride in himself only ever acted to hamper God’s work in his life and all his stories very clearly give glory to God.

The author starts by relating how he came to believe that God speaks today in numerous ways, then he recounts several incidents which show irrefutably that prophecy (in whatever form) can be of immense value to individual Christians and the Church in general. He then goes into what I used to regard as ‘teaching mode’ to list a number of the ways in which the Lord speaks to His people today. The next step he takes is to give some guidelines for developing the ability to receive communication from God through these various methods. This practical advice is skillfully and wisely complemented by a series of warnings about how to make sure that the gift of prophecy is not abused or faked. This is concluded with an analysis of some the common blockages to hearing God’s voice, as well as a list of the types of person/characters who will hear from God most frequently and reliably.

It is no exaggeration to say that some sections in this book were of life changing significance for me personally. In combination with some of the events in my life, I have no doubt that God used this book to change my heart and bring me into awareness of my own pride, among other things. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, though I cannot guarantee that God will use it for you like he did for me. In fact, I am certain He will not do the same, as He deals with all His children as individuals. The one thing that is sure is that if you read ‘Surprised by the Voice of God’ with an open heart and a desperation to know God’s voice in your life then something will happen.