I have been an on and off fan of Mark Batterson’s work for several years. I was a big fan of his book Primal, and it was an excellent help to my spiritual growth at a time when I desperately needed it. I was less enthusiastic about his book The Circle Maker. I felt like it was a bit of a stretch, and presumed too much that Scripture didn’t support. So I was slightly hesitant to read Whisper. But I am glad that I did.
I can’t place it on par with Primal for a couple of reasons, but I did find it encouraging and helpful. In Whisper, Batterson strives to discover and explain the different ways that God speaks to us today. He identifies seven different voices through which God communicates, and digs deep into each of them, one at a time. The first one he discusses is Scripture, God’s primary way of communication to his church today.
I was somewhat disappointed at the level of trust he places in the other six voices though. It seemed as if he held these voices – desires, doors, dreams, people, promptings, and pain – as authoritative as God’s Word. I disagree with that. I believe that God can, and does, communicate through some of these other voices; but I do not think they are to be held to the same level as Scripture.
To be fair, I don’t believe Batterson holds them to this extreme either, but I don’t think he communicated that as clearly as he could have in these chapters. He did, however, do an excellent job of pointing back to Scripture, even during the descriptions of the other six voices.
There was one statement that he made though that seemed arrogant and struck me the wrong way pretty hard. He stated that God had appointed him as the voice of a generation. That may or may not be the case, and it remains to be seen. Either way, I feel he should allow posterity, and those who come after us, to determine if he was the man that God used to speak for this generation. To make that claim of himself seems petty and prideful.
Other than that, I found this book to be encouraging. Is it as good as some of Batterson’s other works? No. But it isn’t as bad as some of them either. And if you are struggling to hear the voice of God in your life, this may be a resource which can help.
Ratings & Details For Whisper:
- Genre/Style: Christian Living
- Purpose/Premise: 6 of 10 stars
- Spiritual Content: 6 of 10 stars
- Readability/Flow: 9 of 10 stars
- Cover: 9 of 10 stars
- Overall Rating: 6 of 10 stars
Question: Do you struggle to hear the voice of God? Perhaps it’s time to listen a bit closer. What passages of Scripture do you find helpful in this? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
I received this book free from Waterbrook/Multnomah Media as part of their Blogging For Books blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.