Spiritual Formation Quotes

• Spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.

  Dallas Willard

  Christian, Spiritual, Self

  Dallas Willard (2014). “Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ”, p.16, Tyndale House

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• Spiritual formation is for everyone. Just as there is an 'outer you' that is being formed and shaped all the time, like it or not, by accident or on purpose, so there is an 'inner you.' You have a spirit. And it's constantly being shaped and tugged at: by what you hear and watch and say and read and think and experience.

  John Ortberg

  Spiritual, Thinking, Watches

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• Everyone gets a spiritual formation. It's like education. Everyone gets an education; it's just a matter of which one you get.

  Dallas Willard

  Spiritual, Matter, Formation

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• In Spiritual formation we are aiming at a character and life that is so shaped that the deeds of Christ routinely and easily come from what is inside.

  Dallas Willard

  Spiritual, Character, Deeds

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• Spiritual formation cannot, in the nature of the case, be a 'private' thing, because it is a matter of whole-life transformation. You need to seek out others in your community who are pursuing the renovation of the heart.

  Dallas Willard

  Spiritual, Heart, Community

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• The aim of spiritual formation is not behavior modification but the transformation of all those aspects of you and me where behavior comes from...Circumcision of the heart.

  Dallas Willard

  Spiritual, Heart, Circumcision

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• Everyone receives spiritual formation, just as everyone gets an education. The only question is whether it is a good one or a bad one. We need to take a conscious, intentional hand in the developmental process. We need to understand what the formation of the human spirit is, and how it can best be done as Christ would have it done. This is an indispensable aspect of developing a psychology that is adequate to human life.

  Dallas Willard

  Spiritual, Hands, Psychology

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• Spiritual formation in Christ moves us toward a total interchange of our ideas and images for his.

  Dallas Willard

  Spiritual, Moving, Ideas

  Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews (2014). “The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation”, p.54, Tyndale House

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• You really can't justify anything else but giving your whole attention to spiritual formation in Christ.

  Dallas Willard

  Spiritual, Giving, Attention

  Source: renovare.org

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• A Christian school should be a place where young men and young women go through a period of spiritual formation and development so that they come out incredibly more proficient at living out their calling than they would have been had they not gone to school.

  Tony Campolo

  Christian, Spiritual, School

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• Many Christians were suddenly prepared to look at traditional methods of spiritual formation. They could not help but see that spiritual growth and vitality stem from what we actually do with our lives, from the habits we form, and from the character that results.

  Dallas Willard

  Christian, Spiritual, Character

  Dallas Willard (2009). “The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives”, p.20, Harper Collins

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• One of the most beautiful ways for spiritual formation to take place is to let your insecurity lead you closer to the Lord. Natural hypersensitivity can become an asset; it makes you aware of your need to be with people and it allows you to be more willing to look at their needs.

  Henri Nouwen

  Beautiful, Spiritual, People

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• For me the university has always been an ideal context for spiritual formation. I always felt that if you want to offer spiritual formation at the university, you can.

  Henri Nouwen

  Spiritual, Want, University

  Source: archives.wineskins.org

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• A great part of the disaster of contemporary life lies in the fact that it is organized around feelings. People nearly always act on their feelings, and think it only right. The will is then left at the mercy of circumstances that evoke feelings. Christian spiritual formation today must squarely confront this fact and overcome it.

  Dallas Willard

  Christian, Spiritual, Lying

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• It is not that the university as such is against spiritual formation. It is just that often the university does not know how to integrate spiritual formation within its academic disciplines.

  Henri Nouwen

  Spiritual, Discipline, Doe

  Source: archives.wineskins.org

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• In your school you take part in various activities that habituate you not to shut yourselves in on yourselves or in your small world, but to be open to others, especially to the poorest and neediest, to work to improve the world in which we live. Be men and women with others and for others, real champions in the service of others. To be magnanimous with interior liberty and a spirit of service, spiritual formation is necessary. Dear children, dear youths, love Jesus Christ ever more!

  Pope Francis

  Spiritual, Jesus, Children

  Pope Francis during meeting with Students of Jesuit Schools, zenit.org. June 7, 2013.

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• The real issue relating to exclusiveness is whether or not the Christian actually has a relationship with God, a presence of God, which non-Christians do not have. Apart from Christian spiritual formation as described here, I believe there is little value in claiming exclusiveness for the Christian way.

  Dallas Willard

  Christian, Spiritual, Real

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• My moral and spiritual formation does not allow me to be a dictator... If I were a dictator, You can be sure that many things have happened.

  Augusto Pinochet

  Spiritual, Doe, Moral

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