For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. Matthew 18:20.
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my
Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my
Spirit. Joel 2:28-29.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true
worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father
is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those
who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23-24.
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31.
Related Quaker Quotes
It is a wonderful thing to be called to the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On Being Moved by the Spirit to Minister in Public Worship, by Lewis Benson.
In your meetings for worship be earnestly concerned to enter
reverently into communion with God. Come with minds and hearts
prepared. Yield yourselves up to the influence of the Divine
Presence so that you may find the evil in you weakening and the good
raised up. God calls each one to the service of the
meeting. Be obedient and faithful, whether by word or silent
prayerful waiting; and be ready to receive the message of others in a
tender spirit. Advice 4, OYM Book of Discipline.
Bidding a man to pray without the Spirit is like asking him to
see without his eyes, to work without his hands, or to walk without
using his feet. And expecting a man to pray before the Spirit in
some measure moves him to is like wanting him to see before he opens
his eyes, or to work with his hands before he begins to move
them. Barclays Apology in Modern English, Freiday, ed., p. 291.
Now our adversaries will acknowledge that prayers without the
Spirit are not according to the will of God; and therefore such as pray
without it have no ground to expect an answer; for indeed to bid
a man pray without the Spirit is all one as to bid one see without
eyes, work without hands, or go without feet. And to desire a man
to fall to prayer ere the Spirit, in some measure less or more,
move him thereunto is to desire a man to see before he open his eyes,
or to walk before he rise up, or to work with his hands before he moves
them. An Apology for the True Christian Divinity, p. 334, by Robert Barclay.
For it was not by the strength of arguments, or by the formal
discussion of each doctrine in order to convince my understanding, that
I came to receive and bear witness to the truth. Rather it was by
being mysteriously reached by this life. For when I came into the
silent assemblies of Gods people, I felt a secret power among them,
which touched my heart. And as I gave way to it, I found the evil
in me weakening, and the good lifted up. Thus it was that I was
knit into them and united with them. And I hungered more and more
for the increase of this power and life until I could feel myself
perfectly redeemed. Barclays Apology in Modern English, Dean Freiday, ed., p. 254.
For not a few have come to be convinced of the Truth after this
manner, of which I myself, in a part, am a true witness, who not by
strength of arguments or by a particular disquisition of each doctrine
and convincement of my understanding thereby, came to receive and bear
witness of the Truth, but by being secretly reached by this Life; for
when I came into the silent assemblies of Gods people I felt a secret
power among them which touched my heart, and as I gave way unto it, I
found the evil weakening in me and the good raised up, and so I became
thus knit and united unto them, hungering more and more after the
increase of this Power and Life whereby I might feel myself perfectly
redeemed... An Apology for the True Christian Divinity, p. 300, by Robert Barclay.