This book is not to be read as you would a novel. Moreover, Dr. Tozer would not want you to read this book and accept everything he says at face value. It would greatly disturb him to think you did that. He cast a jaundiced eye towards the comment, “the book was so interesting, I couldn’t put it down until I read it all the way through.” Such shallow reading was far from his ideal.
Tozer belonged to the school of thought that insisted that some books need to be slowly chewed and meditated on. Perhaps a paragraph, or even a word, would cause a person to stop reading and to spend time meditating and praying. Some books are supposed to be read on your knees, asking God to minister to your heart through the written word. I think this is one of them.
If you have read this book and closed it with the satisfaction of knowing that you have read another “Tozer book,” you have missed the real significance of the ministry of this book. You should not agree with everything in this book. You should not assume that Dr. Tozer is right in his conclusions. He may very well be, but never assume he is correct. What he says in this book should do two things for us.
Number one, it should send us to our knees to examine our own heart.
Number two, it should send us to our Bible to make sure that what he is saying is absolutely what the Word of God teaches.
To come away from a book like this with a greater understanding of the topic is wonderful. However, to come away with a deeper surrender to the Holy Spirit is the whole purpose of this book.
In one of his books, Dr. Tozer makes this observation: “It is important that we get still to wait on God. And it is best that we get alone, preferably with our Bible outspread before us. Then, if we will, we may draw near to God and began to hear Him speak to us in our hearts. I think for the average person the progression will be something like this: First a sound as of a Presence walking in the garden. Then a Voice, more intelligible, but still far from clear. Then the happy moment when the Spirit begins to illuminate the Scriptures; and that which had been only a sound, or at best a voice, now becomes an intelligible word; warm and intimate and clear as the word of a dear friend. Then will come life and light, and best of all, ability to see and rest in and brace Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of all.” ( The Pursuit of God)
May God honor you by showing you the Mystery and Majesty of the Holy Spirit in your life and ministry.