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The Counselor: Straight Talk About the Holy Spirit from a 20th Century Prophet
Book by Tozer, A. W.
171 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1992
51 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
A.W. Tozer
664 books2,101 followersAiden Wilson Tozer was an American evangelical pastor, speaker, writer, and editor. After coming to Christ at the age of seventeen, Tozer found his way into the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination where he served for over forty years. In 1950, he was appointed by the denomination's General Council to be the editor of "The Alliance Witness" (now "Alliance Life").
Born into poverty in western Pennsylvania in 1897, Tozer died in May 1963 a self-educated man who had taught himself what he missed in high school and college due to his home situation. Though he wrote many books, two of them, "The Pursuit of God" and "The Knowledge of the Holy" are widely considered to be classics.
A.W. Tozer and his wife, Ada Cecelia Pfautz, had seven children, six boys and one girl.
Born into poverty in western Pennsylvania in 1897, Tozer died in May 1963 a self-educated man who had taught himself what he missed in high school and college due to his home situation. Though he wrote many books, two of them, "The Pursuit of God" and "The Knowledge of the Holy" are widely considered to be classics.
A.W. Tozer and his wife, Ada Cecelia Pfautz, had seven children, six boys and one girl.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
March 31, 2020
Loved this book. It is a polemic read with a strong theological foundation. Thankful in particular for the chapters on cultivating fellowship with the Spirit and the Holy Spirit makes a difference. One set me up to walk in the Spirit and the other helped me to understand the fruit of that walk.
May 31, 2022
Cântăm despre Dumnezeu și ne rugăm, dar lipsește căldura.
A. W. Tozer
A. W. Tozer
December 18, 2018
This book was a huge disappointment and opened my eyes to the fallible nature of human pastors and teachers. I found the tone and much of the content to be arrogant and misguided, touching on the truth, but then going town a tangent that did not seem right in my testing it against scripture.
It also led me to investigate the life of the author, A.W. Tozer in depth, which produced some interesting facts about his character. While he was no doubt a man trying to follow Christ and urging his fellow Christians to do the same, like all of us, he was flawed.
The lesson: TEST what you read against scripture, no matter the source. Humans will get it right some of the time, and sometimes we will get it wrong.
It also led me to investigate the life of the author, A.W. Tozer in depth, which produced some interesting facts about his character. While he was no doubt a man trying to follow Christ and urging his fellow Christians to do the same, like all of us, he was flawed.
The lesson: TEST what you read against scripture, no matter the source. Humans will get it right some of the time, and sometimes we will get it wrong.
June 17, 2023
The Holy Spirit is unfortunately a person and doctrine that I have neglected in my spiritual walk, and this neglecting has been causal to many of my troubles. I echo Tozer’s “dead crow” analogy when he compared his fathers technique of scaring away crows to how the abusing of the Holy Spirit’s work by certain denominations have scared many evangelicals away from the Third Person of the Trinity.
Tozer’s thesis is that modern evangelicals have “neglected the place of the Holy Spirit’s person in the God head and we have neglected His lordship within the church.” He goes on to show that if the Holy Spirit “does not teach us we can never know. He is our illuminator, and if He does not turn on the light, we can never see.” While the Holy Spirit uses the knowledge of His word to illuminate, knowledge alone can bring us not one iota closer to God. Hence, while not negating the criticality of seminary and Biblical exposition, Tozer writes that “the revelation of the Holy Spirit in one glorious flash of inward illumination would teach you more of Jesus than 5 years of theological seminary.”
Favorite Quotes;
“The true Spirit filled man of God is a perpetual miracle.”
“When no man can help you anymore and you are in a state of inward despair, that is when you will recognize that you are near the place where God can finally do what He wants to do for you… when you come to despair with self, that emptying out of you, and that inward loneliness, you’re getting close … God wants to get us to a place where we would still be happy if we only had Him.”
“Much of our Christianity is social instead of spiritual. We should be a spiritual body with social overtones, but most of our churches are social bodies with spiritual overtones. The heart of the church ought always to be Christ and the Holy Spirit.”
Just as the raven which Noah released was at home in desolation… mankind is like the raven. “The happiness that he had found was what his heart wanted, corruption and desolation, silt and dirt, rotten flesh and dead things. All fitted his disposition and his temperament. He fed on the floating dead.”
The dove Noah released is like the Holy Spirit, seeking as rest for His holy foot, I hear the fluttering of wings, the mourning sound of Him Who is grieved and quenched, I see Him looking about for signs of repentance.”
“It is quite a different thing to have the Spirit as the agent of my regeneration than to have the horn of oil poured out on my head.”
Tozer’s thesis is that modern evangelicals have “neglected the place of the Holy Spirit’s person in the God head and we have neglected His lordship within the church.” He goes on to show that if the Holy Spirit “does not teach us we can never know. He is our illuminator, and if He does not turn on the light, we can never see.” While the Holy Spirit uses the knowledge of His word to illuminate, knowledge alone can bring us not one iota closer to God. Hence, while not negating the criticality of seminary and Biblical exposition, Tozer writes that “the revelation of the Holy Spirit in one glorious flash of inward illumination would teach you more of Jesus than 5 years of theological seminary.”
Favorite Quotes;
“The true Spirit filled man of God is a perpetual miracle.”
“When no man can help you anymore and you are in a state of inward despair, that is when you will recognize that you are near the place where God can finally do what He wants to do for you… when you come to despair with self, that emptying out of you, and that inward loneliness, you’re getting close … God wants to get us to a place where we would still be happy if we only had Him.”
“Much of our Christianity is social instead of spiritual. We should be a spiritual body with social overtones, but most of our churches are social bodies with spiritual overtones. The heart of the church ought always to be Christ and the Holy Spirit.”
Just as the raven which Noah released was at home in desolation… mankind is like the raven. “The happiness that he had found was what his heart wanted, corruption and desolation, silt and dirt, rotten flesh and dead things. All fitted his disposition and his temperament. He fed on the floating dead.”
The dove Noah released is like the Holy Spirit, seeking as rest for His holy foot, I hear the fluttering of wings, the mourning sound of Him Who is grieved and quenched, I see Him looking about for signs of repentance.”
“It is quite a different thing to have the Spirit as the agent of my regeneration than to have the horn of oil poured out on my head.”
November 16, 2025
Tozer schetst een (wat mij betreft herkenbaar en pijnlijk) beeld van een christelijk Westen wat het werk van de Heilige Geest onderschat en ondermijnd. Ondanks dat hij confrontatie niet uit de weg gaat, geeft hij zowel praktische als theoretische uitleg over het leven met de Geest. In mijn persoonlijke zoektocht naar meer van God, Geest, ware liefde, vreugde en vervulling was dit boek een goede katalysator. Toch was zijn argumentatie af en toe ook onaf en theologisch niet sterk onderbouwd, waardoor het boek ook onnodige verwarring bracht.
July 17, 2023
This is an excellent read on what the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit looks like in a persons life. Wow! So much meat in this little book.
December 21, 2023
Found much of his exegesis to be sketchy and while I appreciated the heart of the book, I think it will be discouraging to Christians who do not experience intense spiritual highs on a regular basis.
May 19, 2017
Here’s another Tozer title that elicits soul searching. Moody Publishers now prints several of his titles and this one is slightly longer than some of the others I have seen. As you can imagine, this is another volume on the Holy Spirit. That was always a favorite subject for Tozer and he doesn’t disappoint here. He reminds us of the Person of the Holy Spirit and entices us to be filled with the Spirit. If you are a Tozer reader, that will come as no surprise. Though he returned to this theme again and again in his writings, this one is the best I’ve seen from him on the subject so far.
He begins by explaining the Holy Spirit comes only when Jesus Christ is glorified. That entire chapter was outstanding and a great springboard for the book. He is in no way trite when he argues that the Holy Spirit doesn’t come through the intellect. In chapter 3 he comes at our churches. He says, “The Holy Spirit can be absent and the pastor goes on turning the crank, and nobody finds it out for years and years.” Ouch!
He is very sensible in what can be replicated from Pentecost and what cannot. He believes that the filling of the Spirit always arrives in an instant. In chapter 6 he turns the spotlight on we readers and how to evaluate. In the next chapter he explains spiritual gifts followed by the probing chapter on what we really need. The last chapter is a plea to be holy and not block the fullness of the Spirit.
Add this title to the string of pearls known as Tozer’s writings. It’s another winner.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
He begins by explaining the Holy Spirit comes only when Jesus Christ is glorified. That entire chapter was outstanding and a great springboard for the book. He is in no way trite when he argues that the Holy Spirit doesn’t come through the intellect. In chapter 3 he comes at our churches. He says, “The Holy Spirit can be absent and the pastor goes on turning the crank, and nobody finds it out for years and years.” Ouch!
He is very sensible in what can be replicated from Pentecost and what cannot. He believes that the filling of the Spirit always arrives in an instant. In chapter 6 he turns the spotlight on we readers and how to evaluate. In the next chapter he explains spiritual gifts followed by the probing chapter on what we really need. The last chapter is a plea to be holy and not block the fullness of the Spirit.
Add this title to the string of pearls known as Tozer’s writings. It’s another winner.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
April 3, 2019
"To be filled with the Spirit of God is to have come through feelings, disturbance, anxiety, disappointment, and emptiness. When you reach that place of despair, when you have gone to the last person and you have written the last editor, when you have followed the last evangelist around and hunted up the last fellow to counsel you - when no man can help you anymore and you are in a state of inward despair - that is when you will recognize that you are near the place where God can do what He wants to do for you."
A.W. Tozer is a spiritual giant! He writes with authority, and demands the reader to be transformed by the truth of being counseled by the Holy Spirit. His brutally honest, yet profound points are backed up with scripture. This is the second A.W. Tozer book I have read, (The Pursuit of God was the first) and each time I read a sentence, paragraph, or chapter it feels like I am being reawaken in my faith! The counselor taught me the importance of the Holy Spirit and I strongly believe in today's church, we need more awareness of the His presence. Again, truly an amazing read. Being both a believer and a writer, I only pray to be as good as Tozer!
"I wonder what the apostle Paul would say if he came down right now and looked us over in our congregations. What if he walked up and down the aisles of our churches, then went to the theater and looked them over, then on to a hockey game, on to the crowds at the shopping center and into the crowded streets? Then when he came back and looked us over again, I wonder if he would see very much difference..."
A.W. Tozer is a spiritual giant! He writes with authority, and demands the reader to be transformed by the truth of being counseled by the Holy Spirit. His brutally honest, yet profound points are backed up with scripture. This is the second A.W. Tozer book I have read, (The Pursuit of God was the first) and each time I read a sentence, paragraph, or chapter it feels like I am being reawaken in my faith! The counselor taught me the importance of the Holy Spirit and I strongly believe in today's church, we need more awareness of the His presence. Again, truly an amazing read. Being both a believer and a writer, I only pray to be as good as Tozer!
"I wonder what the apostle Paul would say if he came down right now and looked us over in our congregations. What if he walked up and down the aisles of our churches, then went to the theater and looked them over, then on to a hockey game, on to the crowds at the shopping center and into the crowded streets? Then when he came back and looked us over again, I wonder if he would see very much difference..."
January 7, 2021
Tozer has such a matter of fact way about him. In 'The Counselor,' he comes at readers hard and fast with assertions about the Holy Spirit that he conscientiously backs with scripture. The Spirit is a distinct person of the God-head and yet is often neglected in our hearts and our lives. In this book, Tozer walks the average Christian through who the Spirit is, how He comes, what he comes to accomplish within us, and what it looks like to live absent of His presence. Tozer analyzes the heart of Christians, as they stand individually and as part of the Body, and gives practical guidance on how to actively pursue the Spirit in our walk with Christ. Wondering off on tangents at times, Tozer often takes the long way around when making his points; but when they hit, the message is impactful, convicting even.
August 31, 2023
Tozer seems to be every Calvinist's favorite Arminian, and that might be because he is an inconsistent Arminian in his writings. This collection of sermons and talks on the Holy Spirit is a bit like that - thoughts from an honest Arminian on the wor of the Holy Spirit. Some good and helpful thoughts interspersed with some pelagian light peeking through the window. There's certainly much better works on the topic out there, but Tozer is a good and engaging writer and worth your time.
September 19, 2023
Started as a beach read in Galveston and ended as a porch read at home in Michigan! Tozer is one of my favorite authors and he never misses with his work! This may be his weakest work I’ve read up to this point, but because Tozer offers so much to chew on and reflect on, it’s still a solid book that I’d recommend to many people who follow Jesus, especially those involved and passionate about the work of ministry in the Church.
Rating: 7/10, four stars.
Rating: 7/10, four stars.
December 30, 2022
Tozer presents a powerful relationship between the believer and the Holy Spirit. Many Christians did not understand the Holy Spirit today. But the author takes us into a deeper understanding of how the Holy Spirit walks with us, comforts us, and is our divine counselor. I enjoyed reading the book and reading about the Holy Spirit from his perspective.
January 14, 2021
Tozer is harsh, but unfortunately, he is right.
The Holy Spirit is missing, and we need Him!
He won't come unelss we repent - deeply and continually.
But...we repented once, long time ago.
Lord have mercy!
The Holy Spirit is missing, and we need Him!
He won't come unelss we repent - deeply and continually.
But...we repented once, long time ago.
Lord have mercy!
July 25, 2023
A really great collection of sermons from Tozer. Convicting, encouraging, convicting again, then more encouragement, the piles and piles of exhortation... It must have been quite an experience being able to hear the man preach before his death.
January 23, 2025
Tozer writes beautifully about who the Holy Spirit truly is and how He works. There’s moments while I was reading where I just felt so convicted I needed to put the book down so process how hard I was hit with the truth and the Word of God.
March 26, 2019
What a God-filled reading. May the Holy Spirit be Counselor to us all. May we be filled and as serious as Tozer about the God who died for our salvation.
July 6, 2020
So good!
May 13, 2021
I appreciate so much what Tozer wrote during his lifetime. However, his Keswick and higher life theology as relates to the Holy Spirit and sanctification is not something I agree with.
December 6, 2023
The last two chapters are more than worth the entire read
June 24, 2025
Note to self: if I'm ever asked to teach pneumatology, don't take the systematic theology approach, take the Tozer approach: from the heart, relational, action.
December 28, 2025
A worth while read. This one wasn't as impactful as Holy Fire for me but it was still great. It reiterated some of the same points and had some new ideas.
December 16, 2017
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Proverbs 13:20
If you have a heart, a thirst for God, any book by AW Tozer will bless you.
If you are a Christian and a great thirst to know the Lord is absent, you had better start reading your Bible. But you could do much worse than this book too.
I read this book because I want to love God with all my heart.
Proverbs 13:20
If you have a heart, a thirst for God, any book by AW Tozer will bless you.
If you are a Christian and a great thirst to know the Lord is absent, you had better start reading your Bible. But you could do much worse than this book too.
I read this book because I want to love God with all my heart.
February 29, 2016
Why I Choose this Book:
These last few months I've been interested in finding out more about the Holy Spirit. Until recently I hadn't thought much about Him, and so it's almost like a whole new dimension was added to my world when I became consciously aware of Him in my life and in the world around me.
What I Thought About this Book:
I enjoyed reading this book, more so the second half than the first. It's always enlightening to read books by great Christian authors and I'm so thankful I can learn from them instead of having to learn everything in life by trial and error.
The book was, as you can see from the title, about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is such an important part of being a Christian, but far too often we don't even recognize the fact that He is one of the Trinity. He is alive and active, not an it or a thing. This book helped me to have a clearer understanding of who the Holy Spirit is and what He does in the world.
Sadly though, all in all this book wasn't really my favorite. Somehow the author's style bugged me a bit. He was emphatic about things that I wasn't comfortable with him being emphatic about, and one of my quirks is being really bothered by that type of thing. I'm pretty sure this is just a "me" thing though, and that other people will enjoy it and glean a lot of good information while reading it.
Conclusion:
There were some things I didn't agree with, but overall it was good. I found myself challenged to live a holy and acceptable life before God. I especially liked chapter seven where he talks about different great men and woman of the faith. I want to look up some of the people he mentioned and read books about them. (I was familiar with most of the people, although it's been a while since I've read anything by or about any of them.)
Rating:
I am very picky with the number of stars I give books, hence the three stars. This book had several four-star chapters in it, so over all I'd give the book 3 & 1/2 stars.
*I received this book for free from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review*
These last few months I've been interested in finding out more about the Holy Spirit. Until recently I hadn't thought much about Him, and so it's almost like a whole new dimension was added to my world when I became consciously aware of Him in my life and in the world around me.
What I Thought About this Book:
I enjoyed reading this book, more so the second half than the first. It's always enlightening to read books by great Christian authors and I'm so thankful I can learn from them instead of having to learn everything in life by trial and error.
The book was, as you can see from the title, about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is such an important part of being a Christian, but far too often we don't even recognize the fact that He is one of the Trinity. He is alive and active, not an it or a thing. This book helped me to have a clearer understanding of who the Holy Spirit is and what He does in the world.
Sadly though, all in all this book wasn't really my favorite. Somehow the author's style bugged me a bit. He was emphatic about things that I wasn't comfortable with him being emphatic about, and one of my quirks is being really bothered by that type of thing. I'm pretty sure this is just a "me" thing though, and that other people will enjoy it and glean a lot of good information while reading it.
Conclusion:
There were some things I didn't agree with, but overall it was good. I found myself challenged to live a holy and acceptable life before God. I especially liked chapter seven where he talks about different great men and woman of the faith. I want to look up some of the people he mentioned and read books about them. (I was familiar with most of the people, although it's been a while since I've read anything by or about any of them.)
Rating:
I am very picky with the number of stars I give books, hence the three stars. This book had several four-star chapters in it, so over all I'd give the book 3 & 1/2 stars.
*I received this book for free from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review*
January 29, 2023
In your Christian journey, you will meet Tozer. You might welcome him, you might push back against him, but before you do either, you should read a bit more broadly on him. Go beyond the quick quotes.
I hope from this review, you hear how sharp his words can be. Sometimes sharp words are needed for correction and healing. But sometimes, they can inflict unintentional wounds. Which is why I spend so much time on that one chapter, I don’t want you to miss out on Tozer, but because Tozer is such a forceful writer, if you are not careful you might be carried away by his candour and passion.
He cuts. And when you are bleeding from a heart wound, sometimes the head gets a bit woozy and can’t think straight.
Tozer’s teachings on the Holy Spirit were very much needed in his time. And I believe the peace the church enjoys today regarding the Holy Spirit is partly due to his teachings then. If I can make an over-exaggeration, when it comes to Tozer’s influence, the churches took the parts they liked, claim Tozer as a friend, and no longer neglected the Holy Spirit. So they accepted Tozer’s cutting criticism and have learnt to passionately teach about the Holy Spirit and to embrace him as the Third Person of the Trinity.
Let me close this review with a Tozer quote:
"The only Christian you want to listen to is the one who gives you more of a hunger for God."
And the reason why Tozer is so widely read today is because he gives us more of a hunger for God.
Full 3,300 word review: https://readingandreaders.com/podcast...
I hope from this review, you hear how sharp his words can be. Sometimes sharp words are needed for correction and healing. But sometimes, they can inflict unintentional wounds. Which is why I spend so much time on that one chapter, I don’t want you to miss out on Tozer, but because Tozer is such a forceful writer, if you are not careful you might be carried away by his candour and passion.
He cuts. And when you are bleeding from a heart wound, sometimes the head gets a bit woozy and can’t think straight.
Tozer’s teachings on the Holy Spirit were very much needed in his time. And I believe the peace the church enjoys today regarding the Holy Spirit is partly due to his teachings then. If I can make an over-exaggeration, when it comes to Tozer’s influence, the churches took the parts they liked, claim Tozer as a friend, and no longer neglected the Holy Spirit. So they accepted Tozer’s cutting criticism and have learnt to passionately teach about the Holy Spirit and to embrace him as the Third Person of the Trinity.
Let me close this review with a Tozer quote:
"The only Christian you want to listen to is the one who gives you more of a hunger for God."
And the reason why Tozer is so widely read today is because he gives us more of a hunger for God.
Full 3,300 word review: https://readingandreaders.com/podcast...
February 24, 2016
The Counselor by A.W. Tozer is a straight-forward book talking about the Holy Spirit.
You will find no sugar-coating here, only straight talk on what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. The author uses Bible scripture to show you what the Lord has to say about the Holy Spirit. We all need this closeness with the Holy Spirit that God wants us to have.
Some of my favorite quotes from this book...
"I believe that it might be well for us if we just stopped all of our business and got quiet and worshiped God and waited on him." page 72
"All He wants is for us to yield, obey, open our hearts and He rushes in and our lives are transformed and changed!" page 76
"honor Christ and the Holy Spirit will honor you" page 139
I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is one that I will find myself returning to I am sure.
I received a FREE copy from Moody Publishers in exchange for my honest review.
You will find no sugar-coating here, only straight talk on what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. The author uses Bible scripture to show you what the Lord has to say about the Holy Spirit. We all need this closeness with the Holy Spirit that God wants us to have.
Some of my favorite quotes from this book...
"I believe that it might be well for us if we just stopped all of our business and got quiet and worshiped God and waited on him." page 72
"All He wants is for us to yield, obey, open our hearts and He rushes in and our lives are transformed and changed!" page 76
"honor Christ and the Holy Spirit will honor you" page 139
I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is one that I will find myself returning to I am sure.
I received a FREE copy from Moody Publishers in exchange for my honest review.
March 6, 2010
If you are looking for a warm and fuzzy feeling about what it means to be a Christian, this book will not give it to you. Mr. Tozer gives it to you straight with no sugar coating. He breaks it down in this book in no uncertain terms that you can't "do this your way", but only the Bible way. I apprecited his approach.
October 2, 2013
This is what I'm looking for. A real straight talk about the Holy Spirit without any sugar coating or anything to water down the real meaning of it. Things are starting to become crystal clear and gives you a real understanding why we have Him within us, also, in deep need of the Holy Spirit in our lives, not without.
June 25, 2018
Un excelente libro sobre el Espíritu Santo. Tozer, además de explicar bíblicamente quién es el Espíritu Santo, manifiesta, a través de su testimonio personal, lo que significa conocerlo. Te despierta y anima a conocer más del Santo Espíritu. El mejor libro que he leído sobre la 3ra persona de la Trinidad.
September 9, 2019
Enjoyed reading this book. Reminded me of the paradoxical simplicity of what we need, desire and have been given through Christ. Loved the poignant comments where we get blinded and distracted by in our everyday culture and ways of living. Left me so grateful and hungry for more of His Holy Spirit to take lead in my life!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews