There is an important relationship between the anointing oil and the activities of the Holy Spirit. Jesus clarifies this relationship in Luke 4:18a when He proclaimed that “the spirit of the Lord is upon me because He (the Lord) has anointed me.”
When we partake in the anointing, it is crucial that we do so with expectations. The anointing isn’t just another religious activity; it is, in fact, an opportunity to connect with the Holy Spirit and power of God for manifestations. As children of God, we should have expectations of the anointing.
In this article, we will dig into two wonderful benefits we can expect from the anointing. We will also learn about we can access the anointing so that we enjoy these benefits.
1. Repositioning
The anointing has the power to take you from your current position to a higher one. In the book of Hebrews 1:8-9, we learn that the anointing has the power to place us above our peers and competition. There’s always room above for children of God and when we come in contact with the anointing oil, we receive grace to go higher.
In 1 Samuel 16:13, David was anointed in the midst of his brothers and as soon as he came in contact with the oil, he became the head even though he was the youngest. The anointing defies biological hierarchy and can reposition us as we see in the example of David.
2. Replacement
The anointing oil replaces what is not good with that which is good. When we look closely at the word of God in Isaiah 61:1-3, we see that the operational word in this scripture is “instead.” According to the Oxford dictionary, synonyms for “instead” are “as an alternative” or “as a replacement.”
For those who mourn in Zion, the anointing replaces mourning with the oil of gladness, a faint spirit with the garment of praise, and ashes with beauty. Zion represents the church of the living God. As children of God and because we dwell in Zion, we have access to these supernatural benefits because of the works of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A qualification is a condition that gives you access to a benefit. To access the anointing, The Bible is clear that you must hate iniquity and love righteousness.
Because we are beneficiaries of the replacement power of the anointing, we don’t let tough times beat us down like those who do not have a relationship with God through Christ.
We may face depressing situations, but the anointing gives us supernatural joy and unquestionable peace. We are different because we are in Zion. Therefore we do not mourn like the world mourns. Psalms 104:15 highlights that “the anointing oil makes our face to shine.” Isn’t it exciting to know that we can shine through the gloom of this world?
Even though, as Christians the anointing is a promise of God to us, we must understand that we qualify for this anointing via the love of righteousness and we access it especially through fasting and prayer.
Qualification for the anointing through righteousness
A qualification is a condition that gives you access to a benefit. To access the anointing, The Bible is clear that you must hate iniquity and love righteousness. In Hebrews 1:8-9, we see the reward for the love of righteousness to be the oil of gladness—the very oil (i.e the anointing) we have been exploring in this article!
Yet sometimes, as we see in Romans 7:15 , there can be struggle to live righteously, even when we desire to.
One of the ways to bridge the gap between your inward man that loves righteousness and the actions you take is the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
Accessing the Anointing Through fasting and prayer
Fasting and prayer generate, grow and sustain the anointing. Fasting is the deliberate pursuit of God over the pursuit of pleasure. We voluntarily deprive ourselves of physical food, and devote ourselves instead to prayer in order to demonstrate hunger for God more than hunger for food. In this way, when we give ourselves to fasting and prayer, we can trigger the anointing.
Fasting and prayer generate, grow and sustain the anointing
Just as we established the relationship between the anointing and the Holy Spirit, it is important to mention that there’s a relationship between fasting and the Holy Spirit.
This connection is evident in Joel 2:15 where it says, “blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly”, and afterwards in verse 28, we see an outpouring of the spirit.
Even our Lord Jesus Christ who is God the Son had to engage in fasting. He embarked on a 40-day fast as shown in Luke 4:1-2 and in verse 14, he returned in the power of the Spirit. These activities preceded the anointing of Jesus in Acts 10:38.
In conclusion, what qualifies us to partake in the blessing of the anointing oil?
May you receive the grace to love righteousness and hate iniquity. May the anointing of God and the oil of gladness come upon you to do a work of repositioning and replacement for good in your life, in Jesus name.