Today I was reminded of a day when my morning time with God changed drastically. Before that day, it had been routine. I would go into my prayer room and pray in the spirit for a few minutes. Then I would declare scriptural confessions. I prayed over my family, my partners and friends and anything else God suggested. I ended my prayer time with worship. After all that, I studied the Word for the rest of my allotted time.
For years my habit has been to continually play worship music in my prayer room. It creates an atmosphere of peace which is conducive to prayer and worship. Sometimes I open the door just to let some of that atmosphere drift out. This was a picture of my daily time with God – however, one day it all changed.
One morning, I opened the door to go into my prayer room and God met me there. His tangible, manifested presence was incredible. I immediately began to worship; I could not help myself. The atmosphere was so changed, it was electric with His awesome presence. It compelled me to worship. From that day on, I no longer began my time with praying in the spirit or even confessing scriptures, I simply worshipped. If God spoke to me to pray over certain situations or person, I prayed as He led me to. Spirit led prayers. It was an awesome season that lasted many months.
It reminded me of a time when I worked for Dr. Norvel Hayes. He was a worshipping man. On many, many occasions I would find myself in service during the praise and worship, worshipping God, so lost in His presence that I didn’t know where I was. Just lost in God. Dr. Norvel would come over to me (it would always shock me because I was so caught up in God’s presence) and he would get my hand and say, “come on honey, God is all over you, lay hands on people while His presence is here.”
He recognized the presence and anointing of God like no one else I knew. When God’s presence showed up, Brother Norvel found ways to release it and miracles took place every single time. His words, his instruction, made an impact on me during that season of my life. He is the one who caused me to discover that results are much different when the anointing or manifested presence of God is present. This is what began to happen in my prayer room. As God’s presence showed up tangibly in my quiet time, God would speak to me, just as Brother Norvel had and say, “pray for your partners now, while the anointing is here.”
You see, without His presence I can do nothing. However, when His manifested presence or the anointing of God is present, it changes everything. In that moment, I knew the prayers I prayed would undoubtedly hit the mark. Things would indeed change in the lives of those I have prayed for. We saw it happen time and again.
I am reminded of John 5:2-4 which says, Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
The Bible says when the waters stirred, healing took place. It is the same thing when the spirit of God is stirred, whatever you are praying for will take place without hinderance. That’s the key to spirit led prayer. Many of us pray almost methodically, without waiting on the anointing or the presence of the Lord to show up. We fail to tarry as Jesus told them to do in the Upper Room.
Would things change if we first waited for Holy Spirit to show up with the tangible presence of an Almighty God? Would it be different if we waited for the stirring of the anointing? I believe so. I have seen it happen. We must learn to wait until the tangible presence of God is present and then pray His will over the situation. Where the anointing is, yokes are destroyed, and burdens are removed. That is the Word of God, which cannot fail.
I don’t know what it is for you that brings His presence and anointing into manifestation, for me it is worship. It may be something different for you, but whatever it is, do that until He shows up and then pray His will. Learn to tarry and wait for His presence. You will find that it is easier to pray. You will also pray with more faith and assurance. You will undoubtedly see results as you wait on the Lord.
In this same manner, God often speaks to me to sit down and write when His presence is here. When I do, we get tons of responses on how it ministered to others. You see, apart from Him we can do nothing, but with Him, nothing is impossible. With Him, there is no toil or labor. Allow Him to lead you by His spirit into His way of doing things. His way is easy and powerful and gets results. I encourage you today, wait until the water stirs, until the tangible anointing is present, then jump right in, you will see miraculous results!
