“The power of the Holy Spirit.”--Romans 15:13

Power is the special and distinctive prerogative of God, and God alone. Power belongs to God. God is God: and power belongs to him. If he delegates a portion of it to his creatures, yet it still is his power. The sun in the heavens, although it is “…like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course” [Psalm 19:5], yet it has no power to move through the universe except as God directs it.

Some people object to taking vows, but in the Bible you will find many great men of God directed by covenants, promises, vows and pledges. The psalmist was not averse to the taking of vows: “Thy vows are upon me, O God,” he said. “I will render my praises unto thee” (Psalm 56:12).

My counsel in this matter is that if you are really concerned about spiritual improvement--the gaining of new power, new life, new joy and new personal revival within your heart--you will do

And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. Judges 16:20

One of the signs of a heart that has shifted from God is the absence of spiritual power. If you are like Samson, you will not be immediately aware that God’s power has left you. Only after he tried to defeat his enemies did Samson recognize that something was wrong. He went against the Philistines as before,

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Whenever God reveals something, He expects us to believe Him and adjust our lives accordingly. What does this mean? It means we trust Him implicitly for all of our needs because He says He will provide (Phil. 4:19).

It means we approach crises with the assurance that God will bring good from them (Rom. 8:28). It means we overcome anxiety during stressful situations because God instructs us to bring our requests to Him (Phil. 4:6).