The Anointing

"What is the anointing of God? It is that divine energy that comes upon you and separates you from yourself and fills you with His power! As a result, when you speak, it is like God speaking…and when you act, it is like God acting." -Oral Roberts

I was hesitant to write a blog titled "the anointing" because I know that people from all different backgrounds read my posts, so I try to keep them practical and simple so that they can be easily understood and applicable to everyone who reads them. But I also promised when I started this blog that I would be faithful to share with you what I am learning in my own life, so here it is.

I included the quote from Oral Roberts at the top of this post in order to give us a clear meaning of what it is to be anointed. Unfortunately, church leaders have done a great job of skewing what people perceive this term to mean. Now days, when we hear the term "anointing" we associate it with self-assigned titles that ministers use in order to boost their egos and promote themselves as men and women  working on behalf of God. The irony in this, however, is that the anointing is actually the absence of oneself. Real, authentic anointing comes when all you are is an empty vessel and your self is not inhabiting any part of you.

I spoke two weeks ago now at a women's conference in Brenham, Tx. It was one of the most awesome speaking experiences I have ever had. Usually when I get up to deliver a message, it takes me about 5 minutes to get my body to relax and get my spirit to engage with my mind. Not this weekend, however. As soon as I hit the floor for the first time on Friday night, the Lord was doing all of the talking. I literally walked around up front with a microphone and just listened to God deliver the message. In that moment, I was experiencing the anointing. And let me tell you, that message was a whole lot better than it would have been if I would have gotten up there and shared my own thoughts and opinions. I was an empty vessel, being inhabited by God, allowing Him to use me to say what He needed to say.  Is that how I am all the time? No, of course not. There are things that I say that are obviously coming from Alexis and not God, and it is obvious to everyone around me when that's the case.

But wouldn't everyone appreciate it if I were more often speaking the heart of the Father and not my own? If I were more often walking out in the anointing? Yes, the answer to that question is yes. So how does someone reach that point? I think John sums it up pretty well when he says "I must decrease so he may increase." It all goes along with the breaking I wrote about a few days ago. As the Lord refines us and retrains us, he is pouring the "us" out of us so that we can be filled with more "Him." As time goes on and the breaking process continues, there is more and more room for Him. That means more and more of His message; more and more of His heart. It's all a process that has nothing to do with us and everything to do with God. Our sole role in it is our unconditional surrender of ourselves to be emptied and used by Him.