"Time for God," is another book by Jacques Philippe that is easy to read and understand and yet profound and full of life changing truths. It answers so many questions that you may be wrestling with in regards to prayer. This is not a book to read through quickly though, it begs you to take your time, to reflect deeply on a page or passage, and to slowly transform your prayer life, leading you to a closer and more intimate relationship with God.
It’s one thing to search for God and another thing to listen to Him once we have found Him. Many people never listen to God because they are not aware the He speaks to them.
Yet God does speak.
When does God speak to us? He speaks at all times, especially in prayer. Prayer is a conversation with God. But it is not a monologue. When we pray, then, we should also listen, because a good conversationalist is also a good listener. We do not pray well when we recite ready-made formulas quickly and distractedly.
We act as if God should only to listen to us, and that we have no need to listen to the thoughts and desires He wishes to for us.
Day by day, we must progress, seeing the hand of God in all things, being aware that He speaks to us and manifests His will in the joys, sorrows and circumstances of our daily life."
At first, the book "Wasting Time with God," by Klaus Issler seemed slow moving, but thank goodness, I continued. The book became deeper the more I read, or maybe I became deeper the more I read.
This is a bit longer read, but still easy to spend short times with. Stick with it, the book builds on itself. The title intrigued me. It spends time addressing experiencing God in leisure. The foreword tells you what to expect. I wish I had paid more attention to it. It says the book may catch you off balance, and it did that to me.
I highlight things that impress me when I read. The chapter I highlighted most in this book is the beginning chapter, The Quest. This chapter asks, what are you looking for…which reminds me that same question on Holy Thursday on the Mount of Olives. The author does use some diagrams that may make the book seem more scientific, but don’t let that dissuade you. The author also takes you through friendship, humility, and faith as necessary virtues to develop as we spend time with God. He speaks of the need to become more “mature” in our capacity to know and be friends with God. As we do that, it becomes natural to want to just “waste time” with this God, we love.
The book is divided into two parts and if you stick with it, I guarantee your relationship with God will change and you may actually want to waste some time with Him.