Intimate Friendship with God: Through Understanding the Fear of the Lord

by Joy Dawson, Jay Dawson

Drawing on scripture and experience, Dawson invites readers to a deeply satisfying relationship with the God who calls us not servants, but friends.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Faith, Spirituality, Theology, God

155 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 1986

Reviews

[Savannah Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanna learn about the fear of the Lord? read this book. you will leave changed

[Juanita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this as a devotional book. It was very good. Everything backed up with a lot of scripture. Eye opening to see how many times the Fear of the Lord is used throughout the Bible. Very sound teaching.

[Karen L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a radical author and teacher. I sat through her video teaching series on the fear of the Lord, while in YWAM training. The book is like the lectures and is a very life changing, discipling book.

[Ashton Eleazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely looooooved this book. I didn’t know I would during the first couple chapters. And I do disagree with Bathsheba having a part in Davids sin BUT that doesn’t undermine this book for me in the slightest.
She upholds truth in our words to a high standard and we should not even think negatively about the Lords anointed but pray and search our own.
Pursuit of intimacy with God is more important than anything on the planet and even love of the Bible shouldn’t overshadow our love for him. Though seeking knowledge of him leads us to him, but we won’t receive it unless we are hating sin by repenting (not just sorrow + conviction but turning) and revering Him!

[Ugonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this when I went through Cleansing Streams Ministry and have referenced it over the years

[Ghostofgracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good! I learned a lot through this book about fearing god 💜

[chy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. it took me almost 3 months to complete but i still believe i read it too quickly. may we increase in the fear of the Lord as we approach his return!!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd read this many years ago as part of the Cleansing Streams requirements. Recently I saw it on my shelf and decided to read it again. It actually kinda beckoned me "read me, read me". Fear of the Lord is not defined as being scared but as being in awe and wonder. The point of the book is that it is those people who have a respect for the Lord to obey all that is asked that will then enjoy a level of intimacy with Him not experienced by others. She uses a lot of experiences from her own life, as well as examples that others have shared with her. To think it through causes me to stop and consider: would I be as unwilling to move on without direction as she was able to be? Or would I want to take matters into my own hands and "fix" it to maintain face with those around me? She goes on to explain that it is about being more concerned about what God thinks than about what others think. God help me, I have a ways to go.

[Autumn E. Thomason · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few books I feel actually changed my life and perspective. I read almost all of it in one sitting. I picked this one up at a local Church bookstore. It was discounted, and jumped out at me - "intimacy" and "friendship" being the key words, especially because at the time I felt the Lord beginning to build me on that foundation. I rarely buy books without sitting on it for a bit, but this one was different.

This book is really just the Holy Spirit and I don't have much else to say. I didn't agree with everything, but that's not really the point because there were things I realized about Jesus himself that I needed to know. Why is he trustworthy? How do I run after Him in obedience?

Read this.

[Emeshea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dawson takes you through some of her personal life experiences and many scriptures to illustrate how the fear of the Lord is essential to developing a close relationship with God.

Some of the more moving aspects of the book deal with restoring relationships with others through forgiveness in order to also restore your relationship with the Lord, as well as evaluating whether you value the opinions of men above the opinion of God.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to go deeper in their walk with the Lord. There are some amazing testimonies about God's faithfulness in this book.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been hearing a lot of the fear of the Lord and even followed it through the book of Proverbs but didn't feel I totally understood it. Joy Dawson speaks of it as hating sin like God hates it and loving what God loves. I am impressed with the relevancy of the book today, 30 years after it was written.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intimate Friendship with God was the perfect accompaniment to my morning Bible reading. Joy Dawson includes almost more scriptures than her own writing when talking about truth, faith, obedience, and more.

[Ethan Campbell]

Very good book. Such a simple idea that most believers would claim to understand. It breaks it down so simply and allows it to be understood very easily. Great book for a christian, of 10 years or 1 week. Fear of the Lord is something that I don't see discussed as much as it should be. Great book.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a return to a book I’ve read a number of times. It had been a good decade and was a refreshing reminder of the importance of the fear of the Lord.

[Michael Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Dawson was a noted speaker and teacher for Youth With a Mission (YWAM). Excellent insights!

[Betzaida · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much scripture, I loved it. I never had anybody explain to me the fear of the Lord like this before, I’m happy my friend recommended this book to me <3

[Lydia Bryant · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggle so much to say anything against a book that is so obviously beloved by so many people but this one rubbed me the WRONG way.

I will say nothing of the character of the author because I never knew her, and this was my first glimpse into her work, but she came off as extremely arrogant to me. I felt she overshared, and overdramatized experiences in her life to give her a “holier than thou” persona.

Gosh and I struggle to say that! Because the subject matter at a base level, how the fear of the Lord leads us to, rather than away, from Him, is beautiful. There’s so much truth.

But this book became too overwhelmingly charismatic, and despite many solid Scriptural teachings, Dawson nestled in, sometimes irrelevant, extreme emotional experiences from random people, often times (most often) herself and did not even attempt to connect them and provide biblical evidence.

This book left me feeling so uneasy. But then again, I cannot overlook the help it has provided to many people over the past few decades. So maybe it just wasn’t meant for me.

[Alex Ponce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un excelente libro que nos habla sobre el temor de Dios y en cómo poder tener una comunión más íntima con el Espíritu de Dios.

Me gustó mucho el libro ya que la autora es bastante directa en lo que se propone a plantear y no le da tantas vueltas al asunto.

Este es un libro que yo recomendaría a todos aquellos que quieran reflexionar un poco sobre la importancia del temor a Dios; y como su autora lo dice: no se trata de tenerle miedo a él sino de tener un temor reverente a su presencia y que siendo conscientes que Dios está con nosotros en todo momento debemos de hacer nuestro mejor esfuerzo para agradarle en todo momento.

[Anna Seitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

The content in this book is fantastic for any Christian who desires understanding on Fear of the Lord and the application to our daily lives.
I only withheld a half star in the review simply because I wish the book was a bit updated. Some of the analogies or examples were outdated and made it not as understandable as I think it could be for the you get generation.

Content: 5⭐️
Book Overall: 4⭐️

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joy Dawson is a big name in the YWAM realm, and this is my first encounter of understanding why! All of her words lead to a place of deep reflection and analyzing oneself. She does a great job of teaching the reader how to self-reflect without telling them to do so.

Such a refreshing book for one’s faith.

Highlights:
- Women’s influence
- Our thought lives
- Evaluation of relationships
- True repentance
- Studying the word
- Fear of the lord

[Lainey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, full of lots of really great things and reminders, just unbalanced in view. I find that she leans to one side pretty extremely and uses scripture to make points while forgetting other scripture that could be used to counteract what she's arguing for.

I loved some things, and was pretty opposed to others.

[Tali Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intimate Friendship with God is an amazing book but can be hard to focus on. Joy Dawson is a brilliant woman and obviously led by the Lord and it shows through her book. Hearing her stories and beliefs are both parts amazing and hard. She has a faith in God that I have not seen in many other people. This book is a little heady but definitely worth the read.

[Nita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for anyone desiring a closer relationship with the Lord. Joy’s writing and teaching is sound and biblical, but also practical so that it can be easily applied to one’s life. This book definitely helped me to grow and challenged me spiritually in some areas even bringing me to repentance. I will definitely recommend this book to others!

[Sara Jane Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book had come into my possession when it was released in 1986. It is filled with scriptures and insights to deepen our awareness and understanding. I'll be keeping this one to read over and over again.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even tho I found the comment about rape rather disgusting, this was such a good book. Usually I’d ignore the bad but like the book said to take the bad with the good so I’ll adjust my 5 star rating to reflect that

[Tristin May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven’t read in awhile & so good & practical. She gets repetitive after while but love the entire approach to the fear of the Lord she lays out and how to find intimacy with the lord through that.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless Truths matched with her personal experiences ... loved it. Sadly it has been on my bookshelf for years. So grateful I took time to read this book.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joy Dawson does what only Joy Dawson can, and with the utmost simplicity slices you open and invites you to know God deeply and truly through walking in the Fear of the Lord.

[Raquel Toby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! Easy to read chapters, and lots of scripture in the book.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another 'must read' by Joy. (if you want to live a blessed Christian life)