Today, in Part II, we finish identifying 5 things you can do to attract the anointing of God to your life. You can read Part I here.
4. Being consistent in my prayer life and church attendance
Out of all the suggestions I’ve brought up this one is most important. This is a big rock (the most important things that need to be scheduled into a day, no matter what)” we all need to make sure we have scheduled with God as a time block (a specific stretch of time dedicated to one thing: “5AM-6AM, worship and soaking in His Presence”) the day before.
Daily time spent alone with God, in His Presence, being ministered to by the Spirit and the Word as we both learn and practice our personal ministry unto Him –
“You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.” (Exodus 40:15 NASB)
– is of paramount importance. It is the #1 priority for any Christian, anywhere, no matter what the circumstances. It’s in these sacred times that we receive His affectionate affirmations, encouragement in our identity, and the deep pleasures of His Presence.
Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12 NKJV)
We have to show God and ourselves that we are serious about this. We have to make appointments with Him. We need to plan our day the day before, and plan our week the week before, a foundational habit of the Christian time manager. We prove our faith not by the things we say, but rather by things we do:
Show me your faith without your works, and I’ll show you my faith by my works, that is, by the things I put on my daily agenda and get done. James 2:18, the DreamGoNow paraphrase version)
Once we’re there we ask the Holy Spirit to come and minister to us and to open up the word of God to us.
(If you’re stuck with how to manage your daily time with God and want some suggestions please drop me a line at [email protected], and I’ll send you out some ideas and starting points for this important ministry.)
Being together with the company of Christ’s people with whom we are covenanted should rank very high on the priority of things that we schedule and do every week. It should be a big rock for sure!
This place – the meeting together of the Church, the bride of Jesus – is where the Holy Spirit finds an avenue to speak to us both individually and together as a company of people.
It is the place where His incredible Glory can shine very brightly in loud, involved, undignified public worship.
So David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.” (2 Sam. 6:21-22 NKJV)
…and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. (1 Pet. 5:5b NASB)
I put these two habits together because for me they are inextricably intertwined. For me, my personal devotional life has a direct impact on my life “in church” (and elsewhere, of course!), and my church experience informs and gives meaningful content to my personal devotional life. A regular personal devotional life coupled with regular church attendance is a great way to attract the anointing of God.
This Glory I’m talking about is the kabod (kaw-bode), the weighty, heavy, magnificent presence of God, and it comes upon us with undeniable strength can closeness, with signs and wonders attending.
It is also the place where the younger and less mature learn from the older and more mature. (Please understand that sometimes these conditions are mixed up – sometimes we “older” ones are less mature in certain areas and are able to learn from “younger” ones who have more maturity, life skills, and life experience to share, and are humble enough to both know it and give to us effectively! I’m just sayin’!)
I can state with pleasure the continuing learning experience arising from my relationship with the leaders and people at my church (Bethel Austin, https://www.bethelchurchaustin.com/), many of whom are old enough to be my kids. But this is how the Body and the Spirit work. (Of course my willingness to learn from and observe the lives of these friends of mine probably has a lot to do with it, too! – that’s a Personal Core Value (a commitment I have made to a character trait or practice in my life; a fundamental belief that shapes all my life choices) – “I am teachable, curious, and I am ready to learn.”
…and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. (1 Pet. 5:5b NASB)
I put these two habits together because for me they are inextricably intertwined. For me, my personal devotional life has a direct impact on my life “in church” (and elsewhere, of course!), and my church experience informs and gives meaningful content to my personal devotional life. A regular personal devotional life coupled with regular church attendance is a great way to attract the anointing of God.
5. Find a good role model and learn from them
The fifth and final suggestion is this: find someone you see walking in the power and grace of Jesus, and ask them how they do it. Ask them how they got to the place of effectiveness they are demonstrating in their lives. See if they can tell you about the decisions they’ve made over time which they believe have led to their current mode of living.
Paul says this:
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. (Phil. 4:9 NKJV)
This great quote comes from Marian Wright Edelman:
“You can’t be what you can’t see.”
Which is a clear echo of what Jesus says here:
Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19 NKJV)
The upshot is this: when we find people living a life we ourselves would like to live, learn how they do it, and readily receive what they say, we put ourselves squarely in the path of becoming what we are “predestiny’d” (like the word?) to become. Imitation is a Holy Spirit-breathed shortcut for learning the ways of God, and is a surefire way to attract the anointing of God.
“For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15 NKJV)
Summing it all up, here are 5 ways we can attract the anointing of God to our lives:
- Give thanks for what He’s done and what He’s doing, for this is the very habitation of God
- Order our conduct in a new way by engaging in loving and serving well our key relationships
- Cross over the chicken line – plan, go, and do courageous acts
- Be consistent in a life of prayer and church attendance, since both the hidden life and the place of public worship beckon us to show up!
- Find a good role model and learn from them, because we cannot be what we cannot see.
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