Author James W. Goll
Publisher Destiny Image
ISBN 0-7684-2322-8
The last section of this book is a modern translation of the old Christian classic “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence. The inclusion of this indicates the subject matter of the earlier chapters written by James Goll. His burden is to encourage believers in what he regards as the lost art of approaching God, drawing near to Him and becoming intimate with Him. There are plenty of references to mystical writers from the various streams of the Christian church; he draws from these and the numerous quotations indicate that he has made a considerable study of the subject of meditation, contemplation and many other aspects of drawing near to God. There is therefore, plenty of information here and footnotes too and these can be used to lead the reader into deeper reading on the subject. There are also certain chapters based around certain stories in scripture and these cover matters such as fasting and prayer and so he does root his subject pretty clearly in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament. However, overall I found the book somewhat disappointing for several reasons. Destiny House publishes of books by authors from a charismatic background and usually these have a certain flavor about them and this book is no exception. For example, there is a tendency to regard the subject matter being covered as being a kind of fresh discovery and the answer and key to the great need of the church of today, along with is the idea that it is all linked with the recovery of the truth to the church and the church to the truth in these ‘end times.’ Alas, this means that there is a sense of condescension present, this may also be partly due to the chatty friendly style of writing the author adopts and account for the plenty of name-dropping linked with the personal anecdotes the author includes usually referring to fellow ministers in the charismatic/prophetic movement. The author is himself linked with one of the so called ‘apostolic’ teams and describes himself as a ‘messer-upper.’ Another feature of this particular book is that it does tend towards making intimacy with God a kind of utilitarian thing, ‘we will obtain revelations if we get nearer God.” This is inferred often and stated sometimes. It is so easy to develop the idea that these are techniques, albeit rooted in such noble desire and longing. For me, this book and its well researched sources and links on such a vital subject was spoiled by these elements. There is quite a welter of books being authored on Christian Spirituality in the last ten years or so and this one adds to them somewhat as it challenges us to a life that is intimate with God.
