Tozer's bestseller, this book has been called "one of the all-time most inspirational books" by a panel of Christian magazine writers . Sometimes the voices that speak most clearly in the present are those that echo from the past. So it is in this Christian classic by the late pastor and evangelist A. W. Tozer. Tozer brings the mystics to bear on modern spirituality, grieving the hustle and bustle and calling for a slow, steady gaze upon God. With prophetic vigor and flowing prose, he urges us to replace low thoughts of God with lofty ones, to quiet our lives so we can know God’s presence. He reminds us that life apart from God is really no life at all. Tozer writes from his knees, a posture fit for presenting the character of God in all its demanding grandeur. "Arise, O sleeper!" is his word to us, and yet if we heed the call, we will see that to arise is not to stand, but to kneel before the God of heaven in humble contemplation. To pursue God is to know Him, and in our knowing be drawn in. A call to raise God to His rightful place Sometimes the voice that speaks so clearly in the present is one that echoes from the past. So it is in this Christian classic by the late pastor and evangelist A. W. Tozer. He brings the mystics to bear on modern spirituality, grieving the hustle and bustle and calling for a slow, steady gaze upon God. With prophetic vigor and flowing prose, he urges us to replace low thoughts of God with lofty ones, to quiet our lives so we can know God’s presence. He reminds us that life apart from God is really no life at all. Tozer writes from his knees, a posture fit for presenting the character of God in all its demanding grandeur. "Arise, O sleeper!" is his word to us, and yet if we heed the call, we will see that to arise is not to stand but to kneel before the God of heaven in humble contemplation. To pursue God is to know Him, and in our knowing, be drawn in. A. W. TOZER began his lifelong pursuit of God at the age of seventeen after hearing a street preacher. He never attended high school or seminary—his spiritual understanding came from the power of the Word and the power of the Spirit. While serving as a pastor and magazine editor, he wrote prolifically about basic spiritual disciplines and their relationship to contemporary life. His powerful use of words continues to grip the intellect and stir the soul of today's reader. The Pursuit of God By A. W. Tozer Moody Publishers Copyright © 2006 Moody Bible Institute of Chicago All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60066-003-0 Contents Foreword, 7, Tozer's Legacy, 9, Preface, 13, 1. Following Hard after God, 17, 2. The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing, 27, 3. Removing the Veil, 39, 4. Apprehending God, 55, 5. The Universal Presence, 67, 6. The Speaking Voice, 79, 7. The Gaze of the Soul, 89, 8. Restoring the Creator-Creature Relation, 103, 9. Meekness and Rest, 113, 10. The Sacrament of Living, 121, CHAPTER 1 Following Hard after God My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. PSALM 63:8 Christian theology teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which, briefly stated, means that before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man. Before a sinful man can think a right thought of God, there must have been a work of enlightenment done within him. Imperfect it may be, but a true work nonetheless, and the secret cause of all desiring and seeking and praying which may follow. We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. "No man can come to me," said our Lord, "except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44), and it is by this prevenient drawing that God takes from us every vestige of credit for the act of coming. The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him. All the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand: "Thy right hand upholdeth me." In this divine "upholding" and human "following" there is no contradiction. All is of God, for as von Hügel teaches, God is always previous. In practice, however (that is, where God's previous working meets man's present response), man must pursue God. On our part there must be positive reciprocation if this secret drawing of God is to eventuate in identifiable experience of the Divine. In the warm language of personal feeling, this is stated in Psalm 42:1–2: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" This is deep calling unto deep, and the longing heart will understand it. The doctrine of justification by faith—a biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort—has in our time fallen into evil company and been interpreted by many in such a manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God. The whole transac