"Let us see that to be the Lord's disciple it cannot be based upon your own strength, it has to come from Him. He is the One who calls and He is the One who will work it out. It does not depend upon yourself. Do not think because you have an iron will you can be His disciple; do not assume because you have natural love you can be His disciple; do not think because you understand you can therefore be His disciple. If you try to be a follower by relying upon yourself you will completely fail. If you try to be absolute with the Lord in and of yourself, let me tell you that you cannot. It is impossible. With man this is utterly impossible. Nevertheless, you need not be afraid. The Lord knows you. The Lord does not expect you to be His disciple on your own basis. For hear again the gracious words of the Lord: 'Fear not, I am with you; I will do it; you are but clay in My hand.'
"...The skill of the Master is shown in transforming the dullest and the most worthless into the wisest and the worthiest. All which is needed of the disciple is a full committal and willingness to learn. And so we see that Peter left everything and followed the Lord. And by such action this discipleship was sealed at last, and from that day onward we find Peter in the school of Christ--full time, totally committed, and following the Master.
"O Lord, show Yourself to us, show us Your glory. Make us to see You and hear You that we may respond to You as we ought. Reveal Yourself to us in all Your beauty, greatness and loveliness that we may be completely abandoned to You. So fill our hearts with Your love, Lord, that we may be constrained to rise up and follow You.
"We do desire that Your image shall be seen through us as Your disciples. Yet Lord, evermore tell us that it does not depend upon ourselves to be a good disciple, but that it depends upon You. May we learn to entrust ourselves into Your hands and let You mold and shape us to be a new vessel for Your glory. We ask that as You do call us, let none of us escape; even so, we cannot escape, for You have attracted us.
"Lord, You know our hearts. Search us. Do not let this day pass by without something very real being done by Your Spirit in each one of us. To those who have not heard Your call, make us hear; to those who are hesitating, make us see You in all Your glory; to those who are afraid and feel unworthy -- oh, overcome us by Your worthiness and by Your strength and obtain in us disciples for Yourself."
-Stephen Kaung, Discipled to Christ, 1976
If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me, [for] whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple, [because] you did not choose Me, but I chose you that you should go and bear fruit, [and so] become fishers of men.
-Mt 16:24; Lu 14:27; Jn 15:16; Mr 1:17