Customer Reviews

Born After Midnight

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This is certainly one of Tozer's best works. It always seems that the collections edited by Tozer himself stand head and shoulders above those compiled posthumously. The full title of this work is "True Revivals are Born After Midnight: Spiritual Renewal Comes to Those Who Want it Badly Enough." It is 142 pages in length and contains 34 editorials and a brief preface by A.W. Tozer. The articles focus on the topic of spiritual revival and include both theological and practical exhortations toward this end. In his characteristic manner, Tozer cuts to the heart of the matter--exposing the unspiritual and ungodly practices that have led to widespread spiritual stasis and religious boredom.

Sampling of Chapter Titles:
1. Born After Midnight
9. What to Do About the Devil
11. The Way of True Greatness
13. Faith Dares to Fail
16. Sanctifying the Ordinary
21. Only a Few Things Matter
27. The Fellowship of the Brethren
28. The Unity of All Things
32. Why We Are Lukewarm About Christ's Return
34. Joy Will Come in It's Own Time

From the Back Cover:
"Always and always God must be first. The gospel in its scriptural context puts the glory of God first and the salvation of man second.... Anything that begins anywhere else, whatever it is, is certainly not New Testament Christianity." (from chapter 4)

"The influence of the erotic spirit is felt almost everywhere in evangelical circles. Much of the singing in certain types of meetings has in it more of romance than it has of the Holy Ghost.... Christ is courted with a familiarity that reveals a total ignorance of who He is. It is not the reverent intimacy of the adoring saint but the impudent familiarity of the carnal lover." (from chapter 8)

"God will allow His servant to succeed when he has learned that success does not make him dearer to God nor more valuable in the total scheme of things." (from chapter 13)

May God send us a true revival of spirit, heart and life!

I'd always heard the name A.W. Tozer - good things of course. To keep with that tradition, I also have some good things to say about this book, Born After Midnight. My initial impression was that the book had a strange title. The first chapter tried to explain it but it was lost on me. Another thing I noticed when reading the first chapter was that it was very short. Shortly after that, I noticed that every chapter was very short - about four pages. This, and the fact that it was so captivating, made the read very short and pleasant.

Tozer basically just starts a new topic each chapter, addressing topics of lukewarmness, of doctrine, of spiritual growth, covering a very broad range of topics it would be hard to pinpoint any sort of theme on this book other than simply - the Christian life. The edition I have says 1959, I'm not sure if that was when it was written or just when this copy was published, but the book feels surprisingly current for such a date. Most if not all of the problems he addresses are still problems today, and all of the solutions he gives are all still very practical. The way the book is written invites you to think deep, although it's not that deep of a book all on its own. It's not written with an extensive vocabulary or concepts that only the highly educated can grasp, yet it's not watered down or simple either. I found myself evaluating things in my own life within the first ten minutes of sitting down to read it in ways I'm not in the habit of normally thinking about things, and found myself wanting to just keep reading further.

Overall, I can see this book being very beneficial to both new Christians and those who have been walking in the faith for a long time. It's one of the best I've read in quite a while and really makes me excited to look into other books by Tozer.