Experiencing God’s Anointing

Introduction

Anointing is not a strange word or experience to a Christian. Churches hold anointing services in which oil that’s anointed is poured on members. Believers often keep a bottle of blessed anointing oil in their homes, using it in prayer to sanctify themselves and the items they own.

However, what does it mean to experience God’s anointing? How does it truly feel? What are the signs that we have been anointed? What changes in us? Acts 1:8 says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” This is the reality God wants every believer to live in. But how can this scripture be fulfilled in our lives? Keep reading as we discuss what it truly means to be anointed by God, how to receive God’s anointing, and what to do with it.

What is God’s anointing?

In the Old Testament, God instructed that certain objects and people be anointed to be set apart for a special use. For example, God instructed Moses to anoint and consecrate the Tabernacle and its utensils (Exodus 30:26-30 and Leviticus 8:10-11). Samuel also anointed David as the new king to show that He was the chosen one (1 Samuel 16:3, 1 Samuel 16:13). This anointing involved the use of a special oil. Anointing not only sanctifies, but it also brings down God’s presence. Therefore, anyone who was anointed received God’s presence.

However, in the New Testament, we do not need a physical anointing oil to be chosen, sanctified, and empowered by God. In Luke 4:18, Jesus gave us a new definition of God’s anointing. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me.” The key phrase here is the Spirit of the Lord or the Holy Spirit.

God’s anointing is the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies and empowers us to do God’s will. He also dwells in us. In the Old Testament, a prophet pours an anointing oil on a person to be sanctified and fit for God’s use. However, today, we are anointed through our Lord Jesus Christ when we receive Him as our Lord and Savior. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” God Himself anoints us with the Holy Spirit. He dwells in us and gives us supernatural strength and grace to do what we could not do naturally.

This was the experience of Jesus’ disciples in the Upper Room on Pentecost. The Bible records that tongues of fire sat on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). At that point, the disciples received God’s anointing, which then launched them into another dimension of ministry. Therefore, anointing is more than the oil in the bottle; it is about our relationship with Jesus Christ. If Christ lives in us, we have His Spirit.  

How do you experience God’s anointing?

God has promised us in Acts 1:8 that we shall receive anointing or the Holy Spirit from Him to function in His kingdom and do His will. However, the Holy Spirit does not just drop like rain on everybody, but only on the elect. But you can position yourself to receive this anointing. Now, the question is, how do you experience God’s anointing?

First and foremost, to be qualified for God’s anointing, you must give your life to Jesus Christ. You must confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior and turn from sin to receive the Holy Spirit. Remember that the first recipients of the Holy Spirit were Jesus’ disciples, not random people. They were devoted followers.

Being born again does not mean you are perfect. It only shows that you are on a path toward attaining perfection. So, God anoints you with His Holy Spirit to sanctify and empower you to live righteously, become perfect before Him, and fulfill His purpose for your life. When Christ comes into your life, His Spirit, which is the Holy Spirit, dwells in you.

The second way to receive God’s anointing or the Holy Spirit is through prayer. Before we proceed, you must understand that anointing can be divided into two levels. First, there is the anointing that comes upon a believer the moment they become born again. This is what we explained earlier. The second is the anointing for a specific assignment, such as business, healing, or deliverance.

The anointing for a specific assignment happened in the Upper Room. How do we know this? The disciples already knew Christ and believed in Him, but had not started their assignment, including preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the end of the earth as Jesus declared (Acts 1:8). However, when they gathered and prayed in the Upper Room, they received the Holy Spirit, began speaking in new tongues and preaching the Gospel boldly (Acts 2:1-40)

Therefore, if you are trusting God for an anointing to carry out certain assignments beyond your physical strengths and abilities, you must be committed to prayer. You must engage in this prayer with expectation in your heart of God’s power (Acts 1:13-14). You can also pray with fellow believers just as the disciples prayed in unity and received the Holy Spirit together (Acts 1:12, Acts 2:1-4). You must ensure that there is no strife, anger, grudge, or bitterness in your heart against anyone when you are praying and expecting God’s anointing.

What do you do with the anointing?

God’s anointing is not what you have for having’s sake. It is God’s power that must be deployed on an assignment. You receive the Holy Spirit to work.

At the launch of His ministry, Jesus declared that the Spirit and the anointing of the Lord was upon Him to preach the Gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, recover the sight to the blind, and set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18). Acts 10:38 says, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Therefore, you receive God’s anointing to serve God and humanity. Heaven must acknowledge your works on the earth, and the earth must feel your presence.

Before Jesus’ disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, they were afraid because their Master, Jesus, was no longer with them physically (John 20:19). However, immediately after receiving the Holy Spirit, they became bold. Peter, who was once timid, boldly preached Christ to a multitude, and about three thousand souls repented (Acts 2:1-47). Thereafter, the disciples began preaching the Gospel and performing diverse miracles.

Therefore, being anointed by God is a call to responsibility. Jesus told His disciples that when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they would become His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. If you desire this same anointing, it begins with the same question Jesus’ followers had to answer: Are you truly His disciple? Have you been anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit? If your answer is yes, then it is time to get to work. It does not matter if you are a doctor, teacher, filmmaker, or business owner. You must preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and deliver the oppressed. You do not need a special tag, such as ‘evangelist’ or ‘pastor’. The Holy Spirit has qualified and empowered you. You must go into the world and spread the Good News. The world here is not only referring to geographical locations. We have the business world, the entertainment world, the education world, and so on. Do you belong to any of these worlds? Then that is your place of assignment. God is in you; you can never fail.