Mark Batterson - Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God

Praise for

Whisper

Few authors capture the imagination with the written word like Mark Batterson. His personal stories and biblical convictions will lead you to new places as you are encouraged to lean into and listen for the voice of God day after day. Open your heart, but more importantly open your ears and discover afresh the whisper of a God who still longs to speak to His people.

B RIAN H OUSTON , founder and global senior pastor of Hillsong Church

If youve ever longed to hear the voice of God, this book is an essential guide. Ive been deeply blessed by the personal and prescriptive words of Mark Batterson in Whisper. Packed full of practical steps and godly wisdom, Whisper is one of those books you wont be able to put down. It will open your eyes and your ears to God in a new way.

C HRISTINE C AINE , founder of Propel Women and author of Unashamed

Some of the most frequent questions I get as a pastor have to do with hearing from God. In Whisper, Mark Batterson cuts through the confusion and shows the way to a deeper and closer relationship with Godone that leaves us guessing less and discerning more.

S TEVEN F URTICK , pastor of Elevation Church and New York Times best-selling author

Not a day passes that I dont ask, Lord, what should I do? I need His counsel and crave His guidance. For that reason I welcome this book. May God use it to attune my heart to His.

M AX L UCADO , pastor and author

W HISPER

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ( ESV ) are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, ESV) Text Edition (2016), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( HCSB ) are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked ( KJV ) are taken from the King James Version. Scripture quotations marked ( TLB ) are taken from The Living Bible copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( MSG ) are taken from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers Inc. Scripture quotations marked ( NASB ) are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotations marked ( NKJV ) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NLT ) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the authors added emphasis.

Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

Hardcover ISBN9780735291089

Ebook ISBN9780735291096

Copyright 2017 by Mark Batterson

Cover design by Mark D. Ford

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

M ULTNOMAH and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Batterson, Mark, author.

Title: Whisper : how to hear the voice of God / Mark Batterson.

Description: First Edition. | Colorado Springs : Multnomah, 2017.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017028952 | ISBN 9780735291089 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780735291096 (electronic)

Subjects: LCSH: ListeningReligious aspectsChristianity. | SpiritualityChristianity. | God (Christianity)

Classification: LCC BV4647.L56 B38 2017 | DDC 248dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017028952

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Dedicated to Paul McGarvey, a mentor in ministry. You prayed a prayer in August of 1984 that God answered on July 2, 2016.

THE TOMATIS EFFECT

Speak, L ORD , for your servant is listening.

1 S AMUEL 3:9

M ore than half a century ago, Dr. Alfred Tomatis was confronted with the most curious case of his fifty-year career as an otolaryngologist. A renowned opera singer had mysteriously lost his ability to hit certain notes even though those notes were well within his vocal range. He had been to other ear, nose, and throat specialists, all of whom thought it was a vocal problem. Dr. Tomatis thought otherwise.

Using a sonometer, Dr. Tomatis discovered that even an average opera singer produces 140-decibel sound waves at a meters distance.

The French Academy of Medicine dubbed it the Tomatis effect.

Im guessing you, like me, have your fair share of problems. And your problem-solving techniques might be as effective as mine, which isnt very. Maybe thats because were treating symptoms while ignoring the root cause: a spiritual Tomatis effect. Is it possible that what we perceive to be relational, emotional, and spiritual problems are actually hearing problemsears that have been deafened to the voice of God? And its that inability to hear His voice that causes us to lose our voice and lose our way.

Let me make a bold statement at the beginning of this book: Learning how to hear the voice of God is the solution to a thousand problems! Its also the key to discovering our destiny and fulfilling our potential.

His voice is love.

His voice is power.

His voice is healing.

His voice is wisdom.

His voice is joy.

If your life is off-key, maybe its because youve been deafened by the negative self-talk that doesnt let God get a Word in edgewise! Maybe youve listened to the voice of criticism so long you cant believe anything else about yourself. Or maybe its the Enemys voice of condemnation that speaks lies about who you really are. If you dont silence those competing voices, theyll eventually deafen you. You wont be able to sing Gods song because you wont be able to hear His voice.

Is Gods voice the loudest voice in your life?

Thats the question.

If the answer is no, thats the problem.

We live in a culture where everyone wants to have his or her voice heard but has so little to say. And thats because we do so little listening, especially to God. The best way to get people to listen to us is for us to listen to God. Why? Because well have something to say that is worth hearing.