Book Review: Prayer

Prayer. A.W. Tozer. Compiled by W.L. Seaver. 2016. Moody. 272 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I was super-excited to get a chance to review A.W. Tozer's "new" book on prayer. (Can I just say I'm so thankful that new Tozer books continue to be released. Tozer may have died fifty years ago, but he's still ever-relevant, in my opinion.) This book gathers together Tozer's thoughts on prayer. Chapters come from his sermons, articles, or books. The first section--containing twenty-two chapters--is called "Tozer's Writings," and the second section--containing six chapters--is called "Tozer's Sermons." The first section, if I recall correctly, the readings are perhaps a bit shorter, but, contain bonus material. Summaries are provided for what you've just read in that chapter, and Tozer's ideas are discussed and explored further. These chapters also include discussion questions. The second section, the readings are definitely longer. These chapters all come from sermons, not books published before or after his death.

Chapters include:

• The Whole Life Must Pray
• The Sacrament of Living, part one and two
• To Be Right, We Must Think Right
• Prayer: No Substitute for Obedience
• The Importance of Prayer in God's Eternal Work
• Born after Midnight
• Praying Without Condition
• The Power of Silence
• Dangers in Unanswered Prayer
• What Profit In Prayer?
• Three Ways To Get What We Want
• Prayer Changes People and Things
• On Wrestling in Prayer
• Praying Till We Pray
• God's Selfhood and Prayer
• Truth has Two Wings
• Honesty in Prayer
• Measuring Spirituality by Public Prayers
• The Best Things Come Hard
• A Word to the Men about the Women
• Does God Always Answer Prayer?
• Prepare by Prayer, part one and two
• Believing Prayer
• In Everything by Prayer, part one, two, and three

I would recommend this book for several reasons. One, I love A.W. Tozer. I do. I love him for his zeal, his passion, his stubborn clinging to the Bible as the undeniable WORD OF GOD. To read Tozer is to meet a man who loved God with mighty zeal. Tozer didn't seem to care about being popular or being well-liked. He cared about speaking the truth--as he saw it--and for Tozer, the source of truth was without a doubt, the Bible. Tozer was upset by things he saw: in the church, in society--and he spoke out about it. He clung to hope, however, that men and women could and would be transformed by the power of God, that godliness and holiness was always possible because our God is a big God, and his promises are true. Two, in addition to having a special appreciation for Tozer, I enjoy reading books on prayer. I think prayer remains a tricky subject being both simple and complex. I think believers will always need another book on prayer. And this one is worth reading. It has plenty of thought-provoking ideas in it. You may love or hate Tozer, but, you can't deny he makes you THINK.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible