Where the Anointing Flows
by Stan Smith
by Stan Smith
I spent years seeking more of God. I wanted His anointing and power in my life because I wanted to be like Jesus. So I prayed and worshiped; I dug for truth in the Bible; I lived sacrificially. Then one day, He showed me another key to the release of His power and presence: to connect with people who need and hunger for Him.
I had bought a used car "as is" with several minor electrical problems. Using a wiring diagram and a circuit tester, I repaired several accessories. With each, the power was going to the item and its switch; the problem was a bad ground, which meant there was not a complete circuit. And suddenly I sensed God telling me:
"I want My power to flow, but it's not enough for you to hook up to the Source. You also need a good ground. To make a complete circuit, connect with people in need."
Then He led me to reread Luke 4:18-19, which says the Spirit anointed Jesus to go to the poor, the brokenhearted, the blind, and those in captivity. This passage tells how to maintain a good ground: go to the people the Holy Spirit wants to reach.
Obviously, a good ground alone does not create a complete circuit. We can't neglect our connection to the power source, God Himself. Only with both connections intact can we see God's power flow.
The four gospels show that Jesus paid close attention to His connection with the Father, sometimes praying all night. But He also went out of His way to connect with needy people. Here are two examples.
Mark 1:21-34 tells of a revival that broke out in Capernaum. First Jesus cast out a demon that cried out in the synagogue, then He went home and healed Peter's mother-in-law. At sunset, a crowd gathered outside the house and Jesus ministered healing and deliverance to them. Then verses 35-39 say, 'Having risen a long time before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.' Jesus spent time with the Father, and the Father sent Him to release similar revivals in other towns.
Matthew 9:35-38 gives another example: Jesus saw multitudes who were weary and scattered, like sheep with no shepherd. Moved with compassion, He commissioned the twelve to do the works He had been doing, and sent them out. Luke 10 tells us they later returned with a joyous testimony about works of deliverance.
In one case, Jesus connected with the Father in hours of prayer. In another case, He was simply 'moved with compassion'. Sometimes Jesus took the initiative; sometimes the Father did. But as He stayed in touch with the Father's power, He also received strategies for connecting with the needy.
We need to make the same connections with God and with the needy. And we need to let God send us to those He wants us to serve. He will identify our mission field.
Many of us already know where our mission field is: to pastor a church, to lead a home meeting, or to lead worship. But as we hunger for more anointing, we can ask God to sharpen our focus so we will better connect with people's brokenness.
When I first became a pastor, I thought of a church service as having two parts: worship and teaching. Worship brought the Spirit, and teaching brought the word. Only rarely did the Holy Spirit prompt me to move into personal ministry.
But I was hungry, and Jesus said 'Seek, and you will find.' I talked to other ministers who had a strong flow of the gifts of the Spirit and learned all I could. I realized I had to add a third part to the church service: a ministry time at the end.
I had to stretch, but I made sure I added this third part to every meeting I led. People didn't always respond when I gave an altar call, but I persevered. Before long, my prayer life began to change. Instead of asking God for a word to preach and then trying to tack a ministry time onto the end, I began asking how He wanted to minister; whom He wanted to touch; and then I taught a word that would set the stage for what God had showed me He wanted to do.
I can't say I felt like an expert. But as I kept stretching a little beyond myself, it became easier to get into a flow of the Holy Spirit. And as I've watched my friends over the years, I have seen many others who have grown faster than I did. It always takes a commitment not only to seek God but also to seek a connection with people, so the power of God can flow.
If we ask, God will show us how to connect with people so His anointing can increase in our lives.
I am learning to spend more time in soaking, prayer times when I play a worship CD and simply focus my attention on Jesus. I don't try to pray for anything; I simply enjoy Him.
Soaking added a highlight to a five-week trip to the UK JoAnn and I just finished. We were part of a team that asked leaders in the church, in government, and in prayer networks how they would like us to pray for the UK. (A report will soon be forwarded to prayer teams in the US.)
Just before we left for England, I saw a vision while I was soaking: that JoAnn and I were to ask people in the streets how to pray.
Our meetings were using up all our time and I forgot about the vision. But a hotel desk clerk noticed our accents and asked why we were in the UK, and then I remembered the vision. So I asked her how our team could pray. The conversation led to a ministry time with prayers, hugs, and tears in the hotel lobby.
We started asking others. Sometimes we saw God at work; sometimes we didn't. But as we kept asking, we saw Luke 4:18-19 fulfilled again and again.
Let me challenge you to do what we did. Spend time soaking. Let God set the agenda, don't be in a hurry. Expect God to give you a way to connect with people. And then follow through with sensitive and appropriate action.
Sooner or later. He will give you a credible way to connect with people. Jesus said, 'As the Father has sent Me, so send I you.' We need to take the time to let Him do it.
People seek the anointing for many reasons. Some want to build something; some want to become more influential; some have self-image problems and want to be admired.
Each of these motives can be godly. God calls some of us to build a church or a ministry. He sometimes tells us He wants to give us more influence. And He restores our soul, making us into people who become the head and not the tail. The anointing plays a part in these and other agendas.
But in my own life, the anointing has increased the most when I used it to serve people. And as I have watched my friends grow in the anointing, they too seem to be at their best when they give themselves to others. If we get our eyes on ourselves 'my ministry, my gifts, my calling' the anointing ebbs. If we get our eyes on the poor, the blind, the brokenhearted, and the captives, the anointing increases.
Jesus makes it simple. He told us there are two main commandments: to love God with all our heart, and to love one another. The first commandment hooks us to the power source; the second commandment connects us to the ground. And this gives a complete circuit, and the power of God can flow.
(c) 2007, GospelSmith
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