Blackaby simply assumes that his readers already agree with this view without giving any evidence for it (nor even bothering to state it).

While many Christians today will be surprised to hear this, the very idea that God has a personal will for your life separate from His Sovereign or His Moral will is not uncontested. While points 1-3 seem true at face value, points 4-7 pose large enough problems that they must be analyzed a bit more carefully.

But before we go on to these particulars, it will be beneficial to point out the questionable nature of the hidden foundations of this teaching. There are some ideas Blackaby uses to back up the above points that have the potential for dangerous conclusions. These statements, in turn, may seem to contradict some of the criticisms presented below – so each must be taken in light of his overall approach. For example, he appears to both affirm and deny experiential truth seeking in Scripture (pg. Note that Blackaby sometimes makes statements that appear to contradict others. I will simply state at the outset that I believe Blackaby’s approach is not only unbiblical, but dangerous. The remainder of the book contains examples of how these principles worked out in the lives of Biblical characters and how to apprehend them for your own life. You come to know God by your experience as you obey and God works through you.You must make major adjustments to your life to join God’s work.God’s invitation always involves a crisis of faith for you.God speaks by the Holy Spirit through: the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal this.God invites you to become involved in His work.God pursues a love relationship with you.There are 7 “steps” that Blackaby proposes for knowing God’s will: “I invite you to interact with God throughout the reading of this book so He can reveal to you the ways He wants you to apply these principles in your own life, ministry, and church.” Blackaby’s goal in writing the book is expressed as such: Experiencing God remains popular even after it was first written 30 years ago. Blackaby is a Southern Baptist pastor and the main author of the book Experiencing God as well as its related “family of Bible studies” (which also include study guides, an Experiencing God Study Bible, a devotional journal, and, of course, a youth edition).

Henry t blackaby