Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God

238 Pages·2017·8.867 MB·English

by  Mark Batterson

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.”
—BRIAN HOUSTON, founder and global senior pastor of
Hillsong Church
“If you’ve ever longed to hear the voice of God, this book is an
essential guide. I’ve 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
won’t be able to put down. It will open your eyes and your ears to
God in a new way.”
—CHRISTINE CAINE, 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
God—one that leaves us guessing less and discerning more.”
—STEVEN FURTICK, pastor of Elevation Church and
New York Times best-selling author
“Not a day passes that I don’t 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.”
—MAX LUCADO, pastor and author

WHISPER
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 author’s added emphasis.
Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the
persons involved.
Hardcover ISBN 9780735291089
Ebook ISBN 9780735291096
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.
MULTNOMAH® 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: Listening—Religious aspects—Christianity. | Spirituality—Christianity. |
God (Christianity)
Classification: LCC BV4647.L56 B38 2017 | DDC 248—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/ 2017028952
v4.1
a
Dedicated to Paul McGarvey, a mentor in ministry.
You prayed a prayer in August of 1984 that God
answered on July 2, 2016.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue: The Tomatis Effect
PART ONE: THE POWER OF A WHISPER
1 The Bravest Prayer
2 The Voice
3 The Whispering Spot
PART TWO: THE SEVEN LOVE LANGUAGES
4 Sign Language
5 The Key of Keys—Scripture
6 The Voice of Gladness—Desires
7 The Door to Bithynia—Doors
8 Dreamers by Day—Dreams
9 Hidden Figures—People
10 The Archer’s Paradox—Promptings
11 Joystick—Pain
Epilogue: The Whisper Test
Notes
THE TOMATIS EFFECT
Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.
—1 S 3:9
AMUEL
More 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 meter’s
distance.1 That’s slightly louder than a military jet taking off from an
aircraft carrier. And the sound is even louder inside one’s skull. That
discovery led to a diagnosis: the opera singer had been deafened by
the sound of his own voice. Selective muteness was caused by
selective deafness. If you can’t hear a note, you can’t sing that note.