I decided to spend some time today researching the commonly used words “anointing, anointed, and anoint”, and the first place I started was with the Bible. Often times, it’s easy to do a google search and see what other’s are saying about something, but we should always go to the Word first. If we let the Holy Spirit guide us as we read, we will be more equipped to discern our way through the many false teachings on the internet.

These are some of the questions I had started with, and I will answer them based on what I have discovered in the Word of God.

In the Old Testament, God set aside (consecrated) people to do a work for Him. Kings, priests, and prophets were all “anointed” by God to fulfill His purposes. The anointing was done with oil, and it was sometimes used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our Messiah, and to perform miracles. “Christ” actually means “The Anointed One”.

In 1 John 2:20 NIV says, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” In context we can see that everyone who abides in Christ is anointed by the Holy One. If you do not abide in Christ, you are not anointed.

Everyone has a different purpose to fulfill for God, and if they obey that calling it will be anointed. For instance, I am not called to lead praise and worship, and there would be absolutely no anointing on it if I tried to do it. This isn’t necessarily because I can’t sing, but because I would be in disobedience if I did something that I was not told to do by God.

If we are disobeying the will of God, and we are not using the gifts that He has equipped us with, then it would seem likely that He could remove His anointing at any time. This is evident in King Saul’s situation in which through his disobedience, and distant relationship with God, he lost the Lord’s anointing. Our gifts aren’t taken away, but without the anointing on them, they aren’t very affective.

One explanation is that they are fulfilling the will of God, and what He has created them for. If you are doing this, you will walk in the same level of God’s anointing. The only other reason I can think of is that God has appointed them to do a greater work. It is not by their power, but by His Spirit that they are able to do it. He decides what you are going to be and what you are supposed to be doing!

Many mistakenly use this verse in Psalm 105:15 when someone speaks against one of God’s anointed. In it’s context it actually means physical harm, not spoken words against a person. We should always be open to being corrected, and this is part of coming before God humbly. We all make mistakes, and rather than hide behind “don’t touch God’s anointed”, we should be willing to search the Word of God for the truth on all things as the Bereans did.

In conclusion, the anointing is not a mysterious power that people sense in a church service. It is the God-given ability to fulfill His will by the power of His Holy Spirit. It manifests in many ways, but it is Christ who is the Anointed One, and it is Him that we should be focused on. We should not be chasing the anointing, we should be chasing God. If you want to see the anointing, run to the kitchen and grab some olive oil, and then look in the mirror. You have been anointed by the Holy Spirit when you surrendered your life to Christ!

I had to be willing to let go of some false concepts of the anointing when I started my studies. I’ve been guilty of using the word in improper ways, but the Holy Spirit has led me into Truth as promised. I encourage everyone to study for themselves what the Word of God says about this topic. Don’t just take it from me!

One of the saddest things that I have ever heard from a Christian is that God doesn’t talk to His people anymore, or that God doesn’t require the use of prophets anymore. What exactly was the purpose of the ancient prophets? All throughout their prophecies they are declaring the coming Wrath of the Lord, and interpreting His Divine plan for Salvation through Jesus Christ. It is NOT the same thing as the anti-Christian title of “psychic”. The prophets were not fortune tellers!

So what does the Bible say about prophesying? Has the office of prophet ceased? Let’s look at some scriptures and see what the Word truly says about this…

First, in 1 Samuel 10:5 we are told that Saul is going to run into a company of prophets who will be prophesying. We are never told who the prophets are, so we can assume that not every individual prophet is listed in the Bible. We know of the famous ones, but God gave the gift of prophecy to many in those days!

In Matthew 10:41, Jesus said, “He who receives and welcomes and accepts a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward,”. Obviously He wouldn’t say this if there were no more prophets after the Old Testament. Then He tells the Pharisees in Matthew 23:34 that He is sending them prophets and teachers because they constantly think they can escape the judgement that is coming to them. The work of the prophets has not yet been completed, and will never be completed because not everyone reads and can properly interpret the scriptures! The Pharisees spent their life studying the Word of God and honoring the ancient prophets, but still couldn’t understand the Gospel, and recognize the coming of Jesus Christ. Serpents!

In 1 Corinthians 12:28 Paul is telling us the positions that God appoints to the people in the church. Can you guess what one of these positions is? If you said prophet, you would be correct!

There is more than enough scriptural evidence to confirm that prophets exist today. To see it any other way would be foolish. We are warned in the Bible of false prophets that will rise up in the last days, but wouldn’t it be logical that if there are false prophets, there must be real ones too?

I haven’t even shared my own experiences with the gift of prophesy; experiences that can’t be explained by the natural mind. The Word stands firm without my testimonies, and I can’t understand why there would be any confusion about this topic. The reality is that it is a powerful gift, and where there is power, there is opposition (the devil). He has set up stumbling blocks for those in the Body of Christ, and he has done well. However, Christ has already destroyed the works of the devil; the problem is that a good amount of Christians still don’t know how to walk in that authority and power. In Ephesians 2:19-22, we are told that we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and that Christ holds us all together. We are not separated from them, but we are in fellowship with them, and we are all a part of the temple that is for our Lord!

To answer the question in the title, yes I have heard from Him. In fact, why wouldn’t I? We have been reconciled by the Blood of Jesus Christ. God isn’t an imaginary friend that lives in a place called Heaven. No! He is a personal God that wants to speak to His creation and have a relationship with them. If you believe in Him, you should be hearing from Him regularly. If you aren’t, then there’s a problem, and it’s not with Him!

If we hear from Him, why wouldn’t we share what He says?

There are many things that I have wanted to write about in the past week, but many others have beaten me to it. So, instead of giving you some fresh new insights, I will direct your path to those who have been hearing from God:

1. Jared at Finite Calls Infinite is bored with the Emergent Church. What took so long Jared?
2. Peter Smythe is crashing the tithing party. This article is definitely worth a look!
3. Sicarii has made an excellent and biblically correct point for why none of us are good.

Just for fun, Ray Comfort has wrote a blog about the incredible edible egg and it is a true testimony of how great our God is!

Other than that folks, there’s not a whole lot going on right now! I’ve been extremely busy with work, but I’m finally enjoying some financial freedom. I’ve had some interesting experiences with intercessory prayer in the past two weeks, and I’m beginning to wonder more about this duty that I might be called to. I haven’t learned much about interceding, but usually if God wants me doing something, He will open the doors!

After only a year of following Christ, I’m still learning many things. What a concept, huh? I’ve really had a heart for the lost, and I don’t just mean the people who don’t know Christ. I’ve been greatly disappointed with many who claim to be Christians, and contradict everything that the Word of God teaches. I’ve seen people who are just living for themselves, and doing what makes their flesh happy. I’ve seen wolves in sheep’s clothing, and people that profess love for Christ, yet take delight in the destruction of His Body. All of these things grieve me, and mainly because they grieve my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I’m not perfect. I’ve given up a lot to follow Christ, but there’s nothing special about me. It is only by the hand of God that I have come this far, and I’m eternally grateful. I wish I did know everything, and I wish that I could please God in everything that I do. That is my desire, but I know that it is never possible to be perfect. Is He proud of me? Is He happy with where I am at now? Have I done anything to please Him?

These are some of the questions I have had lately. I don’t care how man views me. Nobody knows the relationship I have with God. Nobody can understand the moments that I weep because of the intense Love that floods my spirit when I’m praying to my Heavenly Father.

No, I’m not perfect. None of us are, and that is why we need a Savior.

I told myself I wouldn’t get involved in any political conversations on my blog, but there comes a point when I need to voice my opinion about certain things. I don’t have a television in my home, but every so often I catch a few minutes of it elsewhere. Usually, I’m quickly reminded of why I got rid of my TV, and the other day was no exception. The View was on, and they were talking about Barack Obama. My spirit was slowly turning upside-down, and then Barbara Walters said something that completed the turning process.

Let’s get one thing straight lady, there is only one Messiah, and it is not Barack Obama. What amazed me was how nonchalant everyone was when she said this. No one even flinched, or blinked. Amazing for a country that claims to be a “Christian nation”.

I won’t say a lot about Barack Obama. Your eyes are either open, or they are closed. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of closed eyes in America. I have no reason to attack him on a personal level. I don’t even know him. However, I can’t support someone who is in favor of abortion, civil unions, or the global warming scam. I won’t even go into the rumors of him being a Muslim. There are enough known facts about this guy, that the confirmation of that rumor would just be the cherry on top of a deliciously wicked sundae.

Apparently, Barbara Walters is not the only one walking on thin ice. Check out this article by Timothy Noah. This country is in trouble. To all my international readers, we need your prayers in America!

Many are captivated by Obama’s stand for change. It’s like a hypnotic trigger for the spiritually dead. As soon as they hear him say “change”, they are drooling at the mouth and worshipping every word he says. No one cares what kind of change or how exactly this change is going to happen. Personally, I have no doubts that he will change this country. It’s just too bad that those changes will add to our already pending destruction.

For all who were wondering where I stand politically, you should now have an idea.

The Bible says we are changed from “glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18), and I’ve started to really understand what that means lately. Naturally, when God moved in my life last year, and led me to surrender everything to Him, there were quite a few changes. A lot of those changes happened rapidly, but the majority have happened over the course of the year, and continue on to this day. It would be impossible to even describe all of the changes that have been made in my life. You would first have to know what kind of person I used to be! That person is in the past though, and it’s weird to even think about him. I remember when I was first being led to surrender to God. It’s almost as if I knew what was coming. I remember asking my friend Gina, “will I still be me?” I was so worried that I was going to lose myself. In a lot of ways I did. However, when I look back I have to ask what was I really holding on to? Smoking, swearing, drinking, inappropriate jokes, making fun of people, impatience, gossip, etc. These are the things that I thought made me who I was; the things that I thought other people liked me for. Yes, I said goodbye to those things, but it didn’t happen over night!

How does it happen? In my prayers, I always ask God to continue His transformation process. I pray to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. Of course, I’ll never be perfect. Ever since I fell in love with Jesus, I have had the desire to see Him glorified through my actions. I remember once last year when I was getting upset with someone, and unleashing my usual fury, my friend said to me, “you might be the only Bible they ever read.” The phrase has stuck with me ever since. I constantly have to remind myself that the way I appear to people is very important for my testimony. Christians shouldn’t look just like everyone else. We are set apart, and we are supposed to be walking upright and in good standing with God. Of course, I still feel the urge to scream at someone who cuts me off in traffic. Ever since I put that Jesus fish on the back of my car though, I have greatly improved my road rage issues. It’s accountability. If we aren’t held accountable we will all fall down. If someone saw me flip someone off, and then looked at the fish on the back of my car, what would they think? The first word that comes to my mind is, “hypocrite”. That’s a harsh word, and one that I never want to be called! Now there are some who might say, “well, I’ll never see them again, and no one will find out”, but if that’s your attitude, then your not a Christian. You read that correctly. If you are more worried about what people think, you are not a true Christian! Do I need to say it one more time?

I don’t bite my tongue to please others, I do it because I want God to have the glory in everything that I do. We need to be focused on what He would think of our actions, not what others would think. Then, and only then, will we truly start to see the glorious transformations happening!

In Matthew 4:4, Jesus tells the devil that we can’t live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of God’s mouth. Yes, we need bread (food) to live, but what is Jesus really talking about here? What else is there that could possibly sustain our life?

In John 4, the disciples were off buying food. When they returned, they insisted that Jesus eat something. However, He tells them that He has food (nourishment) that they don’t know of (John 4:32). After wondering if someone else had stopped by to feed Him, He responded to them saying, “My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish and completely finish His work.”

Jesus wasn’t hungry. He didn’t eat anything, but He was fulfilling the will of God. This is what satisfied His body! Many of us are hungry a lot. It’s no secret that food isn’t what it used to be, and that most of it is loaded with chemicals to make us even more hungry. What if the problem isn’t with the food though? What if we are hungry because we aren’t fulfilling the will of God in our lives.

The last days will bring famines. Indeed, many are starving now, and don’t even realize it! Jesus is the bread of life, right? Isn’t it funny that in this age of spiritual starvation, most of the popular diets out there are against carbohydrates aka bread?

I’ll tell you right now, the scriptures I mentioned have brought a plethora of revelations to my spirit. “Give us this day our daily bread” has a whole new meaning for me, and I think it’s time we start praying that more. Stop depending on food to fill you up. If you’re going to get plump, may you be plump with the things of God!

I woke up about an hour ago from a dream that keeps playing over in my head. It started with me walking in to a classroom. The classroom was full, and I looked at two guys, who I had recognized. The one said, “I’m living on the edge”, and his friend agreed with him. I responded with, “yeah, well I jumped of the cliff a long time ago.” I walked closer to them, and asked the first one why he thinks that he is living on the edge. He started mumbling some really boring stuff that I can’t even remember. The friend did the same, and this prompted me to walk to the front of the class. This is where I started my lesson.

“So you all think you’re living on the edge? Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. You want to know what living on the edge would really be like? Imagine there is an axe to your neck, and the person holding it says, ‘would you die for Jesus?’. Living on the edge would be saying, ‘yes, I’ll die for Jesus. No one is going to stand in the way of my Lord and Savior. No one is going to tell me that I can’t worship the King of Kings. You can kill me right now, because I love my Jesus!’ Think about that!”

The class started crying and cheering, and I felt pretty good about my little speech. It was an unusual dream, and I’m not sure what prompted it. God often uses a classroom setting in my dreams when He is trying to teach me something. I guess the lesson pretty much speaks for itself though…

So, would you die for Him?

Dear Heavenly Father,

It has been almost a year since you came down and touched my heart in a powerful way. Through the year you have taught me many things, but the greatest of these is LOVE. I’m always amazed with how much you LOVE me. Do you remember the one time I asked You, “why do I LOVE you God?” You answered, “because I LOVED you first.” That meant a lot to me, and everything you do means a lot to me. Sometimes, I feel like I could explode with gratitude. It seems like I can never thank you enough. It seems like I can never LOVE you enough.

Lord, I used to not care about anybody except for myself. You changed that. You gave me a new life, and in this new life I am constantly conformed to the likeness of you. It’s not anything I have done Father, but it is all by your hand. You gave me the ability to LOVE, and it is my desire to use that wonderful gift to glorify you in all ways!

Many won’t understand, and some are very cruel with their words. It breaks my heart to think about your children treating you the way they do. I just look at everything you have done in my life, and I can’t figure out how anyone could not LOVE you.

Your LOVE is something that is impossible to comprehend on Earth. Occasionally, you open the Heavens in my life, and I can feel your Presence. In that Presence, I feel perfect LOVE. It is so overwhelming that it brings me to tears, and causes me to fall to the ground. Sometimes I think that if I could feel the fullness of your love, I would probably explode. It’s so powerful, so wonderful, and so important in my life.

Father, I want to know more of your LOVE. I also want to LOVE others as you LOVE them. You have given me many gifts, but they are all useless without the Gift of LOVE.

May our hearts be softened for our neighbors. May we rise up and take our stand in the LOVE war. Out of our LOVE for you, may we love others. In Jesus Name!

Happy Valentine’s Day God. You are my One True Love. There is no one like you!

LOVE,
Justin

…that in the last days will come perilous times of great distress and trouble. These are the words of Paul as he begins to inform us of what life will be like in the last days (2 Timothy 3). Many Christians say that they “feel” like we are in the last days. While I also share in that seemingly corporate “feeling”, I rely more on the Word of God to keep me in Truth. In verse 2, Paul says that people will be lovers of self and self-centered. As I was reading this, I started thinking about a popular book known as The Secret. It’s basically a self-help book that puts you (the reader) in control of everything. By simply telling the universe what you want, you can attract whatever it is that you desire. The focus is on YOU. No credit goes to God.

After that, I thought of some other clues that would indicate we are living in a self-centered world. Satanism, and the rising popularity of the New Age are two big ones. Both promise happiness at the hand of god, but the god they are talking about is YOU. Not all clues are this easy to figure out though. The “every man for himself” and “my happiness comes first” mentality has spread so much (like a disease) that we hardly even recognize that we have become a part of it.

Paul then goes on to say that people will be blasphemers. Again, I started to think about the world around me. At some point in history, it became acceptable for people to use a disgusting four letter word in the same sentence as the name of Jesus Christ. In fact, in a world where many don’t even believe in Jesus, they still find a way to use His name as an expression of fear, excitement, disgust, etc. What about the words of Kathy Griffin when she won her Emmy award? Some may think these are small issues that don’t really matter, but they would be wrong. The biggest danger is when Christian’s start to accept these things, and then go as far as to participate in them.

At the end of Paul’s description, he commands us to avoid these people. So, the choice is up to you. Are you going to accept the ways of the world, or are you going to stand for Righteousness in Christ Jesus?

…and you gave me something to drink. These words have echoed in my head the past few days. It’s the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 25:35, and the message is one that we still don’t seem to understand.

Jesus says that the kind works we do to others, we are really doing to Him. Likewise, when we neglect the needs of others, it is also being done to Him. If we looked at our actions today, and really opened our eyes to the way we have treated people, would we weep with regret of how we have treated our Lord?

The answer to that question is probably not something you’d like to admit. This brings me to my next point…

Along with the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 25, I have also felt a deep sorrow for the Body of Christ. I can only imagine what God sees when He looks down on His creation and finds that the ones who have been commanded to love their neighbors, are doing just the opposite. Where have we gone wrong? How did Christianity become so twisted and full of hidden agendas? When did we decide who we are going to welcome, and who we are going to cast out? Why do we think we can be a witness for Christ to the world, when we can’t even get along with eachother?

The Body of Christ needs a wake-up call regarding this very serious issue. If we can’t follow His instructions…well, I’ll let the Word speak for itself:

I’ve always been inspired by the references to fruit in the Bible. It is an easy way to understand how our lives appear to God and to the world. Jesus said that we would be recognized by our fruits (Matthew 7:16), and that a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, just as a bad tree cannot produce good fruit (Luke 6:43).

What are some ways we can produce good fruit? In 1 Thessalonians 5:15-22 we are given some commands that, if followed, will produce good fruit.

We should always try to be kind to everyone and we should seek to do good to one another. As simple as this is, there are a multitude of people who still don’t get it. I think in our culture we are trying to find reasons to condemn people, so that we can be lifted up higher. In the end, those who have this measure of grace, will receive this measure of grace (Luke 6:38).

Have you realized how blessed you are to follow Christ? Do you not see the people who won’t accept the things of God, and their fate is sealed?

Prayer is our first line of defense, but it is also a gift that God has given us to communicate with Him. We shouldn’t just pray when things get rough; we should be praying continually for all things! Throughout the day, we spend a lot of time in our heads thinking about pointless things. Sometimes we confuse ourselves even more, and there is no fruit. I challenge you to stop talking to yourself, and to start talking to God!

This is crucial because it is the Will of God in Christ Jesus. I’m learning to thank Him regardless of how my circumstances look. Read Romans 8:28, and start believing it!

The Holy Spirit is alive in us and ready to help us at all times. However, we usually seem to think that we can do everything ourselves, and therefore we suppress the Holy Spirit. When you yield to Him, and surrender your ways, you will start to see His ways. Psalm 34:8,9 says, “TASTE and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who TRUSTS and takes refuge in Him.” That’s a delicious fruit!

We should not depreciate prophetic revelations or inspired instructions. This was a warning for then as much as it is now. In the last days, men and women will prophesy (Acts 2:16-17), and many will speak harsh words against them. There will also be many false prophets. So how do we know the difference?

In 1 John 4:2 we are told how to test the spirits. “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”

Evil comes in many forms, and most people forget that it usually doesn’t jump out and say, “I’m evil, avoid me.” With all the forms of evil, how are we to know what is good? The more time you spend in prayer and in the Word, the more you will start to recognize what is evil and what is good.

I thought this moment would never come, but I have finally been honored with my very first blog award by fellow blogger, Sicarii. I have won the Thinking Blogger Award…

Frequently, I pray over this blog. I ask for God’s anointing to be on it, and that He will draw in the people that will be blessed by its contents. This website really isn’t about me, but about the amazing and faithful God that I serve. Any thinking on my part, that turns into an article, is only a result of what the Lord has taught me through His Word.

It hasn’t even been a year since God led me to start Awesome Purpose, and I have had so many good things come from it. I’m thankful for all my readers, and I’m extremely thankful for this award. Thank you Sicarii for “thinking” of me!

As with every award, there are some rules governing it:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ image.

With that said, I have decided to honor the following five blogs with this award:

1. Jared at Finite Calls Infinite
2. Trey at treymorgan.net
3. Chris at Rend the Heavens
4. Sidhu, Roberto, Titto, Nick, David, and Jonathan at TWJ Ministries
5. Attacking Midfielder at Out of the Fort

The other night I was crying out to God for a Word. He spoke into my spirit, Ephesians 2:4-5 which says:

Now, this wasn’t a new revelation for me, but God always finds a way to keep me aware of this foundational belief. Do you understand that He died for you so that He could satisfy His love for you? Do you realize that when He sacrificed Himself, He already knew every sin you were going to commit in your life, and yet He still loved you enough to do this? Immediately after I read this, I asked God to speak to me some more. I then heard Colossians 1:14 which says:

It’s not a coincidence that I opened up to these two verses that are directly related to each other! Isn’t it awesome how God is able to communicate with us through His Word? I remember when I first started reading the Bible with the help of God, and I would get Scriptures in books that I wasn’t even familiar with. I would be so excited when I found it, to discover that I wasn’t making it up in my head, and that it was actually a real verse! Now I trust God enough to know when I hear a verse in my spirit, it is not only going to exist, but it is also going to be a powerful message!

Are you listening to Him when you read? Do you know the wonderful things He wants to share with you?

Deliverance should be a big part of a Christian’s life. Not only do we need it for ourselves, but we should also be ministering it to others as well. Considering the fact that the majority of Jesus’ ministry was healing and deliverance, I think it’s safe to say that this belief is justified. Jesus also said that we would do greater works than He did (John 14:12); that’s possible because He is living in us, and He intercedes on our behalf to our Father! Isn’t that exciting news?

Many have discussed whether or not demons can affect a Christian’s life or not, and I’m going to clarify this debate for you: they can and they do! Anytime you get near their territory (participation in the occult, sinning, unforgiveness, etc.) you are opening yourself up for them to take hold of your life. You actually give them legal rights to certain areas of your life!

They affect us in all different ways, but the main thing I have learned is that they are very deceitful. Many people assume that our personalities are the way they are, and whatever kind of behavior we display is just a result of that. For instance, I used to have a wicked sense of humor. A lot of the times, I would laugh at things that shouldn’t be laughed at. I used to turn everything into a joke! I thought that was just the way I was born, and that’s who I was. Well, during a deliverance one time, I started laughing uncontrollably. My friend was able to discern that it wasn’t me laughing, but that it was a spirit. She commanded it to reveal its name, and I said, “Joker”. She asked what right it had in my life, and I remembered when I was very young through the time I was in high school that people would tell me I looked like the joker when I laughed. I hadn’t thought about it in years, but it suddenly came to my mind. I told her what I was thinking, and she told me to renounce all of these spoken curses over my life, and then she commanded the spirit to leave in the name of Jesus. Immediately, the need to laugh was gone, and my sense of humor has never been the same. That’s a good thing!

As I said, demons are deceitful, and one of the challenges I have faced in deliverance is that they usually don’t want to go. In the case of the “joking spirit”, there was apart of me that was afraid people wouldn’t find me funny anymore, and I felt like that was a big part of my character that I was giving up. The important thing to remember is that if it’s a demon, it has to go! I still make people laugh, but it’s good-mannered humor, and it doesn’t come with a price. Don’t be afraid of letting something go that you know is bad. Trust me, that’s the demon talking!

Another thing to know about deliverance is that the demons can come back. Actually, they bring seven more demons with them (Matthew 12:45)! Many people say that this can be avoided by saying, “you can never come back” or “fill the empty space with the Holy Spirit”, but I believe there is much more to it than that. Obviously, we want the Holy Spirit to fill up the empty space, and I believe this is what Jesus means when He says, “it finds the place unoccupied”. However, just saying those words isn’t going to cut it. I believe it’s important to walk the deliverance through. Afterwards, there will be some tribulations, and you will feel the demon trying to return. It takes dying to self, and walking in the Spirit to make it past that stage. The Bible says “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7), and this is confirmed when Jesus resists the temptations during His 40 days in the desert, and the devil flees. However, the devil also decides that he will try and come back at a more opportune time (Luke 4:13).

It’s important to know that as long as we are on this earth, we are subjected to the demonic realm. Luckily we are seated with Jesus Christ, and have been given the power of His name to deal with these issues. I’m not encouraging demon chasing, but when you feel like there’s something in you that is going against God, you do have the right to kick it out!

The moment I first heard people speaking in tongues, I was baffled…to say the least. I had never heard of the gift of tongues, and I was amazed to see this manifestation of the Holy Spirit right before my eyes. However, my past in the occult left me cautious to welcome anything that seemed out of the ordinary. I started to search for scriptural evidence of this gift, and what I found astounded me! The Bible verses that exist on this topic are so detailed. There’s no room for interpretation, and yet I managed to have never heard of the gift of tongues! After meditating on these Scriptures, I came to realize that this gift was perfectly normal, and what was abnormal was the people who rejected it.

I never prayed to receive tongues. I was watching a teaching by Patricia King, and she started to talk about the gift. After listening to her, I thought how neat it would be to have a private prayer language to speak with God. I just couldn’t understand how I would go about speaking in another language. Was the Holy Spirit going to grab my tongue and start moving it for me?

Patricia said at the end of the teaching that if the Holy Spirit was in us, the gift of tongues was too (Mark 16:17), and all we had to do was open our mouths and let it out. It finally made sense, but I was afraid of what was going to come out. I ignored my fear, and surrendered my tongue to the Holy Spirit. When I opened my mouth there were a few mumbles, and then it became stronger. I could hear what sounded like real words that I had never heard. I prayed in the Spirit for two hours that night. I guess you could say I had a lot of built up things to say to God!

In the days following, I really wanted confirmation that this was from God, and not just something in my head. I asked Him to confirm that it was a gift from Him, and I said, “if it’s not from you, I don’t want to do it.” One day, I kept saying a word that sounded like “makoya”, so I decided to see if I could find anything. Of course, I didn’t know how to spell what I was saying, but I typed my first guess (makoya) into reference.com, and this is what came up! This was the first confirmation. I also had confirmation in certain Bible verses that the Lord led me to. For instance, Matthew 7:9-11, which basically says that if we ask God for something good, He is not going to give us something bad. I also noticed how this prayer language made me feel. I would start to feel confident, and a new authority would come into my voice. Even when I switched to English, my English prayers would be stronger. This is supported in 1 Corinthians 14:4, which says that tongues is for edifying ourselves.

Do you speak in tongues? What was it like when you first started? If you aren’t speaking in tongues, don’t fret! I don’t hold the belief that it makes someone any less of a Christian, but I do believe that everyone who has been baptized into the Body of Christ can do it. What’s holding you back?