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In his latest book, Walking with God (2 stars), John Eldredge invites readers into a fresh intimacy with God marked by interactive prayer. By constantly surrendering ourselves to the will of God and inviting his guidance, we can "talk to him. Hear from him. Really."

In the form of a yearlong journal, readers accompany Eldredge through four seasons of praying for, seeking, and finding God's guidance. We hear his self-doubts, his surrender of pride, his joy riding horseback through mountains in autumn's glow, his battle with alcohol and sleeplessness, and his cycles of prayer and God's response. It is winsome reading: terse, likeable, and with enough vulnerability for us to see ourselves in this everyday Christian, but without the garish revelations likely to trigger supermarket sales.

Eldredge's core spiritual values mirror many others' in the charismatic/Pietist/ Pentecostal family of Christians: "that the heart is central to the Christian life, that we are invited into a conversational intimacy with God, and that spiritual warfare is real." So for those of us who live in another branch of the Christian family, he brings balance and sometimes provokes a bit of envy.

Eldredge alerts us to a constant awareness of God's presence and his unrelenting participation in our lives. "Life will present us with hundreds of opportunities in a single week to take a look at our internal world, to walk with God there, to become more fully his. Don't let your internal life go unshepherded." Throughout Walking with God, Eldredge offers guidance on praying and sample prayers—all of them emphasizing the constancy of asking God's guidance, hearing God's voice, and surrendering to God. Did his failure to ask God which direction to take on a morning horseback ride trigger his unexpected fall and injury? Possibly. Or, when entering a week of overlapping responsibilities, "I prayed, Lord, what do I need to be prepared for next week? He told me to take Monday and Tuesday off. What gracious counsel."

Like his liturgically minded kin, Eldredge often begins and ends his days with set prayers extending several pages each. These are self-composed and cover adoration, worship, praise, thanksgiving, self-examination, renunciation of evil, intercession, and personal commitment. But throughout the day his informal prayers might go something like this:

Jesus, is this a good day for fishing, or should I just lay low, hang out here? I pause and listen. I'm really okay with either answer. What do you think, Lord? I listen open to anything else he might want to say … Today I am ready to surrender. Even fishing, which for a fishing addict is a pretty good sign that God is at work. I sit quietly and repeat the question. Jesus, shall we fish? What do you have for today? I hear, Fish.

What devout Christian would not want this kind of intimate walk with God, constantly in tune with his voice, even going fishing under divine direction and with divine accompaniment? It's enough to make a Calvinist's heart burn with envy. Or caution.

First, a mild disclaimer: Eldredge is best known for his male-affirming Wild at Heart and related writings. So I picked up his current writing in the area of spiritual formation with a certain amount of caution. Though this book does not emphasize gender matters, even here real men love hiking and camping and breaking the tape at the end of a race, while real women love the latest fashions, teaching cooking classes, and are likely to drown their sorrows in soap operas. I must say that such stereotypical characterizations didn't exactly strike a chord with this woman reviewer who loves to hike and camp, hasn't watched a soap in decades, and almost never picks up a fashion magazine.

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September 2008, Vol. 52, No. 9