Practicing the Power Quotes

“We say we want revival . . . but on our terms. We don’t pray this way, but this is what our hearts are saying to God: “Come Holy Spirit . . . but only if you promise in advance to do things the way we have always done them in our church.” “Come Holy Spirit . . . but only if I have some sort of prior guarantee that when you show up you won’t embarrass me.” “Come Holy Spirit . . . but only if your work of revival is one that I can still control, one that preserves intact the traditions with which I am comfortable.” “Come Holy Spirit . . . but only if your work of revival is neat and tidy and dignified and understandable and above all else socially acceptable.” “Come Holy Spirit . . . but only if you plan to change others; only if you make them to be like me; only if you convict their hearts so they will live and dress and talk like I do.” “Come Holy Spirit . . . but only if you let us preserve our distinctives and retain our differences from others whom we find offensive.”
― Sam Storms, Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life

“...we must be careful to avoid the error of reductionism, as if the whole of the Spirit’s ministry can be reduced to Christology, as if the Spirit does nothing but glorify Christ. It’s the mistake of arguing that the primary purpose of the Spirit’s coming is the sole purpose of his coming. The principal aim of the Spirit in what he does is to awaken us to the glory, splendor, and centrality of the work of Christ Jesus. But this does not mean that it is less than the Spirit at work when he awakens us also to his own glory and power and abiding presence.”
― Sam Storms, Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life

“...the Spirit comes to us as a fire, either to be fanned into full flame and given the freedom to accomplish his will or to be doused and extinguished by the water of human fear, control, and flawed theology.”
― Sam Storms, Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life

“Our responsibility is to obey God’s Word. God’s responsibility is to act in accordance with his will and, according to his calendar, to do whatever it is that most pleases him.”
― Sam Storms, Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life

“Fasting is about ingesting the Word of God, the beauty of God, the presence of God, the blessings of God. Fasting is about spiritual indulgence!”
― Sam Storms, Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life

“I encourage either you or the person who is suffering to read aloud Luke 10:17–20, Ephesians 1:15–23 (esp. v. 21), and Colossians 2:9–15.”
― Sam Storms, Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life

“The biblical view of the body, on the other hand, is quite positive. God created us as physical beings. We are both material and immaterial (see Genesis 2:7). The importance of the body is extensively illustrated in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Our bodies were redeemed by the blood of Christ, no less than our souls (v. 20). Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (v. 19). Our bodies are designed “for the Lord” (v. 13). Our bodies are members of Christ himself (v. 15). Our bodies are capable of being sinned against (v. 18). Our bodies are to be used to honor God (v. 20). Finally, our bodies will be resurrected and glorified. In other words, we will spend eternity as physically glorified beings (see Romans 8:11, 23; 1 Corinthians 15:35–49). At the judgment seat of Christ, we will have to give an account for what we have done in our bodies. There is no escaping the fact that spirituality is physical. Although God is spirit, he created the physical, material world and pronounced it good (Genesis 1:4, 12, 18, 21, 25). When God created us in his image, he gave us bodies. On”
― Sam Storms, Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life