Activating the Voice of God in Your Home by Matt Holman 
 

'Great resource for families and those who lead children and youth ministries; full of practical suggestions to help people of all ages hear the voice of God'

Activating the Voice of God in Your Home
By Matt Holman 

Independent Publishing Network
ISBN: 978-1805170648
Reviewed by Jodie Thorpe

I was invited to review Activating the Voice of God in Your Home and have to say I found it a really encouraging read. Encouraging because I love the expectation within it that everyone of all ages does hear God and also because of Matt Holman’s stories and examples - testimonies of God working in individuals’ lives is always encouraging isn’t it! I’d describe the book as a simple guide to help families train themselves to hear God more clearly and more expectantly in the home.
 
Matt is a pastoral assistant from Counterslip Baptist Church, Bristol and his introduction lays out how people of all ages are able to hear the voice of God. He explains how his book aims to share stories from his own family’s faith journey to encourage and inspire families to seek to hear and share the voice of God.
 
The first section contains four activations to help families connect with God’s presence and peace. I love the story shared as part of activation three with a story of 82 year old Joan encountering Holy Spirit for the first time because she had a ‘God given desire’ during a service.
 
The second section contains three activations to help us learn to receive from God. I really like how Matt references examples of his children encountering God through technology, rather than suggesting that the only way to hear God is to avoid tech; God (unsurprisingly) can use it!
 
The third section has three activations exploring how to discover God’s voice through His creation and everyday experiences. The suggested activations in this section are all very simple but reveal key ways of spending time together as family, seeking to make us more aware in the everyday of what Jesus wants to highlight, how Jesus wants to connect with us whatever our age and what action He might be prompting us to take.
 
Section four has four activations around the theme of exploring identity and spiritual growth. I particularly like the emphases on ensuring that children grow up to engage with who they are in Jesus, and the acknowledgment that the prophetic has in developing our identity as sons and daughters of Christ.
 
The fifth section has three activations about how to hear the voice of God (John 10: 27 ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”). The varied stories Matt offers from his family's experiences to accompany each activation help to give tangible examples of how they as a family have sought to hear and then follow the voice of God, and include experiencing miracles, encouragements and blessings. These help to raise our faith to expect such experiences and more as we choose to step into activating the voice of God in our home and everyday lives.
 
The sixth and final section has five simple activations that explore how God sometimes communicates through imagery and symbols. These are activations that could be shared with any age (and I predict could encourage many adults). The story of Matt’s son sharing a prophetic sense with his adult cousin (activation 18) is really encouraging and shows how activating the voice of God within your family grows confidence and makes sharing the prophetic the norm. Of course children often don’t have the hang-ups or hesitations we have as adults and just go ahead when prompted by God!
 
Carefully woven in throughout the activations are suggested tips which relate to safeguarding your child or young person.
 
Matt has also provided an index with potential interpretations of symbols and imagery, to aid as the reader weighs prophetic senses before God, and in scripture.
 
Top quote from the book - “We are uniquely created, therefore, we all have a unique relationship with God. The key to hearing God with confidence is discovering the way in which you hear best.” (Matt Holman p.44)
 
I’d recommend this book as a great resource for families and those who lead children and youth ministries, because it is full of practical suggestions for activations to grow in activating the voice of God.  (And as I said earlier, I also think it could really encourage lots of adults too!)

 

Jodie Thorpe is Children, Youth and Families Enabler with the Yorkshire Baptist Association