"One of the most unsettling things about the new birth...

...which Jesus says we all must experience in order to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3), is that we don't control it. We don't decide to make it happen any more than a baby decides to make his birth happen-or, more accurately, make his conception happen. Or even more accurately: We don't decide to make it happen any more than dead men can decide to give themselves life. The reason we need to be born again is that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. That's why we need the new birth, and that's why we can't make it happen. This is one reason why we speak of the sovereign grace of God. Or better: This is one reason why we love the sovereign grace of God."

An excerpt from John Piper's new book - "Finally Alive"