The book is organized as a 21 day devotional and is divided into three sections: a lifestyle of intimacy, a lifestyle of wisdom and a lifestyle of revelation. Each section contains 7 chapters, so in theory you should read a chapter a day until you finish the book. Moreover, since each chapter also contains 4 questions at the end, the organization of the book makes it easier to apply the principles contained. It also helps to cultivate discipline, and thus "reinforces" or points to the most important discipline of the Christian life: daily picking up your cross and intentionally following Christ.In addition to the above, each section features a person from the Scriptures who models the characteristic Goll teaches and wishes to impart to the reader. The first, a lifestyle of intimacy, draws upon the life of John the Beloved. In this section Goll names intimacy as the foundation of a prophetic lifestyle. He has a few nice and fresh insights in this section. I especially liked his teaching on how John’s grew from being a “ Son of Thunder” ready to call down God's wrath, to one who leaned on the chest of the Lord, and was ultimately chosen to write about the love of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ ( the book of Revelation). Its often more common to hear of Peter’s growth, but this teaching on John is rare and just as thought provoking.
The last part of this section contained one of the best insights of the book. In it Goll describes “the character to carry the gift” , speaking of how one matures as a Christian in general, and in using the prophetic. I personally struggled with some of the issues he presented such as times of spiritual dryness, and a “drying up“ of the spiritual gifts, so it was great to hear how one successfully copes with these difficulties.
Although the first few chapters in this section were good, I found the rest a bit unnecessary. Since I came to this book eager to learn about how to prophesy, I expected to find this information very early in the book and in more depth. However, Goll spent a little too much time speaking of intimacy. I understand his intention was to emphasize the importance of a close relationship with the Lord above all else, but this could have been expressed in fewer words, and chapters. I would have preferred Goll to have simply pointed the reader to other books on the topic of intimacy, and to have delved more into teaching about prophecy.
Still, the rest of the book was strong all around. Section two, called "a lifestyle of wisdom", discusses more of prophecy and examines Joseph’s journey to wisdom. Goll shows and entreats the reader on how he too can develop wisdom and understand the prophetic. In the last section, a lifestyle of revelation, Goll features Ezekiel “the prophet of visionary revelation” as he so describes him. Another highlight of the book comes in this section, which I believe to be the best section of all. Goll gets to the heart of the matter, giving practical tips for prophesying in every chapter of this section, and even describing his own triumphs and sufferings in the prophetic. He also gives a thought provoking analysis of Ezekiel and the valley of the dry bones.
Overall this was a good book. It starts of a bit slowly, picks up in the middle and finishes strongly in the last section. Throughout the book I appreciated how Goll encourages the readers to answer the question and apply the principles he has listed. I have decided to apply several of the tools in my daily walk with God from now on. So, if you are looking for an interesting discussion of prophesy from the perspective of a seasoned prophet, then you will enjoy and benefit from this book. Goll has been prophesying for many years, and has much experience and wisdom. This book would have been even stronger if he had shared more of his experiences and practical insights.
***I recieved a free copy of this book from Chosen Books in exchange for my honest review.
