The Pressing of Anointing

The Pressing of Anointing

"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."I John 2:27

I heard it said recently, that, “the gifts and callings of God are without repentance but that the anointing of God is flexible.” I never want to be so full of iniquity in my own self that I cannot recognize my lack of anointing just because God has gifted me in the Holy Ghost. Lord that we never walk to our own understanding and to the beat of our own drum. The Lord has been dealing with me on the price of anointing for over a month. 

I think I want to understand fully why anointing oil is so important and it has been something that has been on my heart the last several weeks. What is it? How do I get it? And most importantly, how do I keep it? I do not think there is any person that wants to pray for someone and not see our prayers answered. But as an anointed vessel of God, we should always be seeking to have understanding so that we do not become stagnant in our approach to prayer.

I found this initial idea of anointing on google and it does seem to sum it up well:

“The primary purpose of anointing with the holy anointing oil was to sanctify, to set the anointed person or object apart as qodesh, or "holy" (Exodus 30:29). Originally, the oil was used exclusively for the priests and the Tabernacle articles, but its use was later extended to include kings (I Samuel 10:1)”

What is the Oil?

The oil is what we transfer to another when we pray for them. The transliteration of anointing comes from the word Chrisma which means a consecrated oil, and for us to understand would mean a holy and separate oil. For we truly are the oil. The oil that is poured out is the oil of the Holy Ghost, but we must be the ones who allow it to be pure. Think of it as a strainer, straining out the impurities and all the junk is removed and now you have pure oil. It is the same oil before it was strained but without the straining (life of separation and holiness) our oil becomes muddy. We as a conduit of the Holy Ghost if we are allowing sin to be resident in our lives, we then block the flow of the Holy Ghost being able to operate most effectively in our lives.

How is the Oil Applied?

The Strong’s concordance defines oil as, “anything that is smeared on, prepared by the Hebrews from oil and aromatic herbs. Anointing was the inaugural ceremony for priests.” A smearing is a special endowment of the Holy Ghost, anointing and unction. As we might say, walking in the Holy Ghost. I love the definition that it is a smearing because honestly that is what it feels like when you pray for someone. It is like a part of you is rubbed off on the person you are praying for and that is why we must be consecrated if we are praying for others. We apply it to others when we step out in faith and lay hands on the sick, those who need a deliverance, or those seeking the Holy Ghost. BUT we cannot walk in this anointing without being fully committed and submitted to the man of God in our lives. You may walk in the Holy Ghost somewhat without submission because those gifts are without repentance but are you walking in true anointing without it? I would say you cannot, and you must understand submission before you can truly be an anointed vessel.

The Pressing

David was the anointed king, but he understood his place and that he would not usurp his authority in his life. David was pressed! With anointing comes a pressing, just as oil comes out of olives in an olive press, so is the anointing of the Holy Ghost. The anointing presses you and refines you, so that you can be smeared on someone who needs the presence of God in their lives.

Smear = to overspread with something unctuous, vicious, or adhesive. Which is to mean walking in the unction of the Holy Ghost, and the violent take it by force.

So, the anointing oil is then pressed from you, smeared, and then adhered to someone else! What an awesome responsibility to those of us who are living with this knowledge. So, do you think your oil is going to effective, if you are living in two worlds? Or even if you are not “sinning” but are not praying, do you think your oil will have much affect?

Too often we as Apostolic Christians rely on the presence of God that we feel in our church services. We sometimes allow ourselves to believe we are living how we should because we feel God’s presence when we come to church. Here is the deal though, someone paid the price for the presence you feel in their personal prayer room. So, if the presence we feel is great, how much more would it be if we too sold out to prayer?

It is going to be a lot. It is going to cost you time. It is going to cost you often friends, family, and entertainment. It is going to be rough. You will often feel alone. You will maybe feel like giving up! You might feel defeated at times. Hell will definitely come at you in your life. But as they say if nothing is coming against you then you are not doing much in prayer. That is not to be critical or to discourage you but just to let you know you are on the right track.

The pressing truly is a life of intercessory prayer. The oil comes from the pressing in the spirit. It is not something you can manufacture. You cannot imitate the anointing. It cannot be bought. It cannot be reasoned out in your mind. For this pressing and anointing comes from God. The more you seek Him, the more you will find Him.

My Testimony

I have many things that God has set me free from and where He has delivered me. This testimony is about Him pressing me in prayer. I am just being honest when I say, many times in my life I have dropped the ball in prayer. All the while in His beautiful way that Jesus does, He kept calling me to more prayer. If I am completely honest, I knew it, felt it, heard it, but shied away from it. Why? I know the price. And honestly the life of intercessory prayer is a burden. I mean a literal burden, it presses you, wakes you up in the night, disrupts your ideas on how life should be, etc etc etc.

I made a lot of excuses and had feared the price. But Jesus never gives up on us. He does not badger us, but He leads us in love. He then shows us why we need to do what He is asking.

I had a lot of things going on in my life in February 2020 and God showed me that if I would not pray, then who would? Was I willing to allow people to go to Hell because I would not pray? God sent a minister to me and He spoke over my life about my anointing and calling. I am not going to lie ya’ll it was a lot. It daunts me at times and I sure do not feel worthy of the calling. Yet, we must get out of our own heads and know, nope you cannot do it at all. It never will be you who does it and if we are a willing, consecrated, sold out vessel, then yes God can use us.

He zapped me if you will and I said "OK Lord, this time I sell out for real." I am not saying I was not sold out; I am saying I had to sell out to the Lord’s timing. I had to sell out to my thought processes and let Him have control. I could not fear prayer because of the hell it might bring in my life. Let me tell you it has too! You know what though? It is worth it! I have seen like 900 prayers answered since I sold out to prayer. So I guess what I am saying is yes you can be sold out to Jesus, but until we are sold out to prayer, our anointing will not have much affect and we will feel like we are spinning our wheels and going nowhere.

Accessing the Right Oil

These are key component to accessing the right oil in our lives not in any specific order just how they came to me:

1)    Are you praying?

2)    Are you submitted to your pastor?  

3)    Have you allowed your pastor veto power in your life?

4)    Who are you following?

5)    What are you feeding your soul? Movies, music, entertainment etc.

6)    Who are you letting speak into your life?

7)    Do you have a teachable spirit?

8)    Are you looking for faults in others?

9)    Can you handle rejection?

10)   Will you trust the voice of God?

11)    Are you humble?

12)    Are you consumed with the opinions of others?

13)    Can you trust God in your failures?

14)    Do you think you have to be perfect?

15)    Are you faithful to the things of God and His house?

16)    Will you obey the voice of God?

17)     Can you stand alone?

18)     Can you stand with others?

19)     Do you seek recognition?

20)     Are you looking for a title or position?

21)     What are your motives?

22)     What drives you?

23)     Are you willing to pay the cost for anointing?

24)     Do you trust others?

25)     Do you trust God?

26)     Do you trust yourself?

27)     Can you see beyond self to others?

28)     Can you live a life of forgiveness?

29)     Are you willing to ask for forgiveness?

30)      Are you leading anyone to Jesus?

31)      Are you seeking souls for the Kingdom?

32)      Would you die for Jesus?

33)      Do you have to always be right?

34)      Can you keep the trust of others?

I know I fall short in many of these areas. It truly is a lifelong journey to obtain the fruit of the spirit in these aspects. I am not saying this list is complete either, but it is meant to provoke you to think and assess your own life. To have true anointing, we must be sold out, consecrated, willing to see our own faults, and willing to give them to the Lord so He can make us over for His glory.

A Cost of Anointing

We cannot walk alone and be an island unto ourselves but there are many times in seasons of our lives that we will walk alone with the Lord. Why? Well honestly, I think it is because sometimes people in our lives cannot go where we are going, or they will not go, or they just are not there yet. The Lord will leave us alone, so that He can continue to press us and work things out of us. I long for the day that I can have a husband who walks beside me and me beside him. There is something to walking with someone who knows you, hears the same voice from God, and is seeking the same things in God. Yet, I feel even in marriage there will be times we feel alone and that really is a sign that God is trying to speak to us. He is trying to prepare you for the calling on your life. The cost of anointing is self… losing your identity and becoming the vessel He has called you to become.

The Reward of Anointing

1)    Souls are saved

2)    People are set free and delivered

3)    Signs, wonders, and miracles

4)    A life where you are not bound by sin

Souls being saved is the reward of an effectual soul winner. We want to see souls saved! We want to see revival! We do not want to be shallow in our walk with God, for we only fool ourselves and no one else. Nothing is scarier than being outside the will of God. Nothing drives me more than knowing my life can affect souls being saved or that once they are in the church, I can affect their understanding of who they are in Jesus. There is a weight and responsibility to knowing you can make or break someone in the Kingdom of God. Your life can affect someone to the cross or away from the cross.

Anointing does not come over night and it will never come by accident. Jacob purposely sought the blessing from his father. He might not have done it the right way, but he was after the things of God. In the end, God said. “Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated.” Why? Because Esau cared nothing for the things of God. It might have been his birthright or his “calling” but he sold out for the blessings of God for a bowl of porridge and missed his calling. No soul winner accidentally reaches for souls. Everything we purpose in our hearts for the Kingdom will come to pass if we seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness. "But Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33

Negative vs. Positive

There will be some negativity that comes against you and honestly that’s just par for the course. If we run the race with patience we will win. We must be patient with ourselves and others. You may be misunderstood. Others may be jealous of your anointing but that is really because they do not really understand what it is, or they would not be jealous of you. You may have a target at times on your back but that is because your anointing shines in the darkness. People will not know what to do with you. But do not give up hope! There is so much more positive than there is negative. Look at the negative as a time to reflect. Ask yourself the hard questions I listed? Be willing to take constructive criticism. Learn to tune into the right voices and not to be overcome by the negative voices. The enemy will seek to steal your anointing, but he can only have it, if you stop praying and you let him have it and give up in defeat.

So, keep praying, keep pressing in the Holy Ghost, do not be discouraged and know that no matter what the weapon is we win!

The Balance

Pray for wisdom for those who pray for it will receive it liberally. Pray for knowledge of the word of God and then allow the wisdom of God to guide you in that knowledge. Be wiling to learn, be teachable, and be faithful. Be careful who you let speak into your life, but also be careful not to wall yourself off to others. Know that most people truly want the best for you but pray for discernment, “the ability to know what is right and almost right.”

Do not be afraid to cry out to the Lord. Seek Him early and seek Him often. Seek wise counsel, stay submitted to your pastor, and be listening to the voice of God to lead you. The life of anointing cost you everything but if you lose your life to Christ you will gain it and great is your reward in Him. The life of walking in anointing is worth the fight! The reward is Heaven! The reward is well done thou good and faithful servant! The reward is the people you take with you to Heaven!

Your anointing is worth the tears, the pressing, the loneliness, being misunderstood, the anguish, the doubts, and your fears. Anointing costs you everything but in the end, you gain everything and more!