First published in 1948, The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer, has been reissued with an
Introduction by James L. Snyder and published by Bethany House, who kindly sent
me a hardback copy of this Christian classic to review.
A self-taught theologian-pastor, Tozer (1897-1963)
wrote the book on a long, cross-country train ride, most likely unaware it
would be published many times in many languages over many decades. He just
wanted to bring readers of this and his forty-plus books into the presence of
God. As he stated in the Preface, “It is
a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God’s children
starving while actually seated at the Father’s table.”
In the chapter “Following Hard After God,” Rev. Tozer
advises us:
“Come near to
the holy men and women of the past, and you will soon feel the heat of their
desire for God. They mourned for Him, they prayed and wrestled and sought for
Him day and night, in season and out, and when they had found Him the finding
was all the sweeter for the long seeking.”
His book has precisely that effect with chapter after
chapter showing us how. In “The Universal Presence,” for example, Tozer
explains:
“God is here
when we are wholly unaware of it. He is manifest only when and as we are aware
of His Presence. On our part there must be surrender to the Spirit of God, for
His work it is to show us the Father and the Son. If we cooperate with Him in
loving obedience, God will manifest Himself to us, and that manifestation will
be the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life radiant with the light
of His face.”
Each chapter ends with a prayer relevant to what’s just
been read as Rev. Tozer draws us ever deeper into The Pursuit of God. The
book continues to direct our focus away from ourselves and our concerns toward
God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, exhorting us to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) while become more
receptive to “The Speaking Voice.”
In the chapter by that name, Rev. Tozer clarifies:
“The facts are
that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak….
The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God’s continuous speech.”
Further:
“I think a new
world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the
idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now
speaking….” for “…a word of God once
spoken continues to be spoken.”
Therefore:
“If you would
follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible, expecting it to
speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push
around at your convenience. It is more than a thing; it is a voice, a word, the
very Word of the living God.”
©2020, Mary Harwell Sayler, poet-writer, Bible Reviewer
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