Keys to the Deeper Life

by A.W. Tozer, Rachael Underhill (Foreword)

Keys to the Deeper Life is a collection of theological essays written by American pastor and writer A.W. Tozer. Originally printed in Christian Life magazine, these essays ask the faithful to reject worldliness and instead return to "New Testament Christianity" where they will find a "deeper life" and greater connection to God.A.W. Tozer (b. 1897, d. 1963) was called to Christianity as a teen. One day while walking home from his job at a tire factory, he reportedly heard a street preacher say, "If you don't know how to be saved...just call on God, saying 'Lord be merciful to me a sinner.'" He did as the preacher said upon his return home.Tozer was one of the most widely-read Christian authors of his time, which becomes understandable when one experiences his simple, layperson style of writing. He was also a powerful preacher. When asked by one of his mentees how he prepared a sermon, he replied that he simply prayed, and God showed him which scriptures his congregants needed to hear.Keys to the Deeper Life , Tozer's 8th book published in 1957, is a short collection of essays to help contemporary Christians to build a deeper spiritual connection with God and their faith. A common theme throughout his writing is the worldliness of modern Christians, at the expense of the "deeper riches of life."The four essays in this work ● No Revival without Reformation ● The Deeper Life, What Is It? ● Gifts of the Are They for Us Today? ● How to Be Filled with the SpiritIn No Revival without Reformation , Tozer argues that rather than seek a revival of the church by increasing its numbers, Christians must reform their lives first and give new obedience to God's commandments. He writes, "We must return to New Testament Christianity, not in creed only but in complete manner of life as well." And he did not leave himself out of this "And this applies to this writer and to this magazine as well as to everyone that names the name of Jesus."The Deeper Life, What Is It? expresses concern about his contemporaries' satisfaction with an average spiritual existence, and instead exhorts the faithful to "explore the depths of the Christian evangel for those riches it surely contains but which we are as surely missing."In Gifts of the Are They for Us Today? , Tozer states that there are so few Christians who "want to experience whatever God has for them within the context of sound New Testament faith" that they are easy to overlook. But there are still a few who will welcome these spiritual gifts (including faith, gifts of healing, prophecy, and distinguishing between spirits, among others). And only those who are blessed "by the Spirit through gifts He has Himself implanted in the souls of redeemed men" can do God's eternal work.In his final essay, How to Be Filled with the Spirit , Tozer outlines the necessary path to fulfillment. First, one must be certain it is possible to be so filled. Then, he must desire to be. This is no simple desire. The person must enthusiastically renounce the control of their life, and cede their personality and "self-sins" to the Spirit. Only when they surrender fully will they be prepared to be filled with the Spirit.Tozer's reliance on prayer and scriptures to support his writing makes his work simple yet profound, and as relevant now as it was during his lifetime.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Theology, Nonfiction, Faith, Christianity, Christian Non Fiction

46 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1963

About the author

Aiden 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.

Reviews

[Olabode Ososami · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this book when I was discovering Tozer..easily my favourite author. The book is so simple yet so profound...Highly recommended..especially for young saints seeking to go a little deeper.

[Chris Timby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fundamentalism: There is so much more!

"The voice of the prophet was silenced and the scribe captured the minds of the faithful. In large areas the religious imagination withered. An unofficial hierarchy decided what Christians were to believe. Not the Scriptures, but what the scribe thought the Scriptures meant became the Christian creed."

Good theology and sound doctrine alone cannot feed and equip the Body of Christ. A. W. Tozer challenges the Christ follower to go deeper with God and be filled with the Holy Spirit, where Grace, mercy, and truth and freedom in Christ are found.

[Vicki B · Rating 4 out of 5]

W. O. W. This is a little book I will read again & again. More than a little convicting! But no shaming.

[David Tai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutally honest book on today's Christianity. A short book but not necessarily a quick read. It'll take sometime to digest his writings.

[Deac Debora]

“Trebuie să ne întoarcem la creștinismul nou-testamentar, nu numai în crez, ci și în modul de viață. Separarea, supunerea, umilința, simplitatea, seriozitatea, stăpânirea de sine, modestia, purtarea crucii, toate acestea trebuie să fie făcute din nou parte vie a noțiunii de creștin și să fie transpuse în comportarea de fiecare zi.”

“Când apostolul strigă: “Ca să-L cunosc pe El”, el folosește cuvântul a cunoaște nu în sensul lui intelectual, ci în cel experimental, bazat pe experiență. Noi trebuie să-i căutăm semnificația - nu pentru minte, ci pentru inimă. Cunoașterea teologică este cunoaștere despre Dumnezeu. Cu toate că lucrul acesta e indispensabil, el nu este suficient. El are aceeași relație cu nevoia spirituală a omului ca și o fântână cu nevoia corpului său fizic. Nu după puțul săpat în stâncă tânjește călătorul însetat, ci după apa dulce și rece care curge din el. Nu o cunoaștere intelectuală despre Dumnezeu e cea care stinge străvechea sete a inimii omenești, ci însăși Persoana și prezența lui Dumnezeu.”
“A vorbi despre “viață mai profundă” nu înseamnă a vorbi despre ceva mai profund decât simpla credință nou-testamentară.”

[C.G.Koens · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Tozer takes the obvious and states it in a way that makes you stop in your reading tracks and say, "of course!" This isn't a long book, but powerful, reminding the Believer that it's time to move past the simple and delve into the deeper, Spirit-filled life that God created us for. Once again, God used Tozer to smack me between the eyes, and Tozer, as he always does, points the reader right back to God.

[Lexi Huang · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9/5 stars

I just picked up this book at Matt’s parent’s house because I had finished my current book and wanted to read. I chose it because it was by Tozer. It was a collection of articles he had written so as a whole not a super cohesive book but for Tozer it was nice to have short little sections to process

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good!

[Marcia Richards]

Keys to The Deeper Life

An excellent reading for the heart who is genuinely following hard after God. It challenges our complacency, and lukewarm and anemic search and seeking after God. The reader will have answer, do you really want Jesus, for Who He is, or the tepid imitation, watered down version of Who He is presented as today. Are we willing to surrender totally, believe and obey in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit so the our Christian works can be fueled by His power rather than by our own soulish efforts.

[Beth Valantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply Challenging

I come away from this writing with a deeper sense of how little I know of the Holy God that loves me. Tozer continually challenges me and warns us about cheap grace..

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb and heart breaking. I was blind and now I see.

[Jan Petznick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be Filled with the Spirit

Very clear and thought (heart) provoking writing true to Tozer's way of teaching. Every Christian should have the opportunity to read.

[Cheryl Neer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you yearn for more of Jesus? A.W. Tozer challenges Christians to live an experiential life of knowing Christ. What he calls the Deeper Life, in this short 4-chapter book, is living as the New Testament Church lived in the book of Acts who lived and experienced the Holy Spirit. If we desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit Tozer reminds us to Surrender (Romans 12:1-2), Ask (Luke 11:3), Obey (Acts 5:32) and Believe (Galatians 3:2). He ends the book with this: " And it might easily be that after we have been filled with the Spirit we will find to our delight that the very filling itself has solved the other problems for us."

Thought provoking and convicting read.

[Tamara Younce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Holy Spirit is so misunderstood, but Tozer makes it clear that the Holy Spirit should be a Christian’s cloud by day and our fire by night.
Faith comes from the word of god -

The author asks, “are you ready w/o further anointing to resist temptation, obey the scriptures, understand the truth, live victoriously and die in peace and meet Christ w/o embarrassment?”

Surrender ask obey believe.

Tozer’s message is clear and concise in this short book- most Christian’s are living without the daily moment by moment guidance of the Holy Spirit, b/c most are unable to relinquish ALL to God.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a good thing this book is short, because I think I'm going to have to read it several more times. Once again, a book that Tozer wrote decades ago still finds relevancy today. He doesn't just point fingers at the problems though; he also explains how to fix the problems and work through the issues.

I don't believe this book is for new Christians or those looking for answers. This book speaks more to those Christians who know there's more/want more but don't know how to get it. It's definitely challenged me, and I'm looking forward to working through those challenges.

[Will Norrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, short sampling of Tozer.
The length of this work is very manageable and could be a stepping stone to some of Tozer's longer, heavier works.
Over years of reading his work, I have gained the impression that Dr. Tozer was brilliant, complex, and perhaps difficult to know personally, yet his writing is incisive, direct, and extremely memorable. This work further confirms those view on his writing.

[Ed Peacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A POTENT READING

This is the first completed READING of any A.W. Tozer book that I've ever read. To anyone READING this book, read it SLOWLY and read it SEVERAL times SLOWLY, to Savor the All Consuming Truth that has been lost from the pulpits of Our Churches! For those Brethren which seek to know the TRUE FILLING of the SPIRIT, this READING will most certainly guide you towards that end!

[Randy Corn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his typical clear and convicting style Tozer points out the shallowness of the evangelical movement of his day. I found myself wondering what he would say about the contemporary scene! This is a serious call to real repentance and a zeal for the Lord. I believe that any Christian who reads this book from beginning to end will either scoff at it or surrender to the truth of it. Hopefully, I am in the latter group.

[Norm Konzelman · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Listened to this version as an audiobook) Everything I have read or heard of the works of AW Tozer is to me something to treasure. I have never tired of them, though I have repeated a book, or listened again over and over to a chapter.
I'm at a point I do not understand yet that his works are all I seek other than my Bible.
A rich treasure given by God of His man.

[Michael Bering Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tozer sounds here a desperate, necessary note that he in other works has previously announced and proclaimed. He calls the saints away from a dry, lifeless textualism that substitutes true communion with the living God for its diabolical, modernistic counterfeit, and in four essays makes every attempt to draw the Bride of Christ away from dead orthodoxy, to life with the Bridegroom himself.

[Scott Petty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short book (it took me about an hour to read) but has much to say. Tozer laments the lack of the Spirit in the church of his time, points out the necessity of being filled with the Spirit, then proceeds to challenge the reader to experience this for themselves. This is not a 'feel good' book but a call to decision and action not just to Tozer's era but to ours as well.

[Jonathan C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enough of shallow Christianity

Tozer reminds us of how desperately we need the filling of the Holy Spirit, and how powerless our lives are without it. The question is are we willing to surrender, ask, obey and believe so we can truly be filled? This book is for those who are unsatisfied with shallow faith and recognize their longing for the fullness God has made available.

[Jan Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amen without this anointing there is no eternal Spiritual fruit

It is the clear teaching of the New Testament.
It is the most needed for pastors and every Christian
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (Joh 6:63, KJV)

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

very short book, more of a long essay. Written from the heart of a pastor theologian burdened for
the Church of this hour to return to the fundamentals of the faith and live in greater honesty and dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Gives an exhortation regarding the baptism of the Holy Spirit from a well-balanced biblical perspective.

[Vanessa Honesty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational Joy

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! Love it! The only way to love the LORD is very deeply. I pray that I will always go to Him and rest in peace and joy.
HALLELUJAH Amen 🙏 Are we there yet? Are we there yet? 😂
I'm really not in a place to write a decent review.

[Eniola · Rating 5 out of 5]

A.W Tozer is a writer that wrote to glorify God and bless readers of his books. A section of the book that was enlightening is “The Holy Spirit is Not Enthusiasm”. Here's an excerpt: “The Holy Spirit is a person and He must be Lord. He can communicate with you and love you...”
I greatly recommend reading this book, especially by youths in this present age.

[Blase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tozer always packs a punch!

This collection of short essays/articles is no different. Tozer tackles revival, renewal, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

I highly recommend reading and re-reading this collection.

There are lots of different versions of this work floating around. I am reviewing the "Revised and Expanded" edition from Clarion Classics. ISBN: 978-0310333616

[Jeffrey Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book that I will have to read several more times in order to grasp all that it has to offer. It's amazing to me that this book was written back in 1957. Sadly, not much has changed—and what has changed has been for the worst.

[charron jenkins-kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good insite filled

Very good and insite filled. The purpose of this book is to become deeper. Deeper meaning the instilling of the holy spirit. This book is more about why we need to go deeper and that we need the holy spirit to do it.

[David Shuler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeper life

This book should be read and re-read to fully understand and appreciate just what has been said. To be filled with the Holy Spirit we must and need to be willing and able to lay it all down at the masters feet.
What a book. What a truth.