"But as for you who have received this holy consecration (his presence now living in you) you have been commissioned by God to enter into this engagement that is set to fill a designated position, an engagement so true that it occupies all the necessary essentials to keep you tied to Jesus Christ and His divine purpose for your life."
- Paraphrased - 1 John 2:27
One way to see an increase in the anointing has to do with being faithful to yield to it when God wants to flow through you. Jesus said, "Take heed what ye hear; with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you and unto you that hear shall more be given" (Mark 4:24). The same thing holds try in every area of our Christian life. If you want to see more then you have to be more attentive to what you already have working in you and learn how to treat it with great respect. You have to look at it as if it were your ultimate purpose, honoring it and protecting it as a precious treasure.
You can be anointed for lesser things just as you can be anointed for greater things. But rest assured you will never be anointed for the greater if you are unfaithful in the lesser. If God has you doing something very menial in the eyes of men, and you know that is where he wants you to be, then give yourself wholly to it and be faithful. Ask him to anoint you to do your job even in the simplest ways. Pray that his presence comes on you as you do what you are asked to do. If your service is to be a custodian then clean with such enthusiasm that you see the toilet or sink as if it were a crippled person needing healing. When you are vacuuming the carpet treat it as if every pass you take you are cleaning the dirt and debris as if you were casting out devils or delivering people from their sin. It may seem like a small thing, but if you take it to heart as if it was just as serious a thing as any true ministry to people, then God will entrust you with greater things to do and an opportunity to be used in greater ways.
One of the most essential areas in yielding to the anointing, especially when it comes to you wanting to see an increase in your life is never assume anything. When a minister begins to take the anointing for granted they don't realize that really what they are doing is getting so comfortable with it that it is almost as if they hold the reins to it. This kind of thinking borders on the idea that the anointing is working because of who they are instead of who they serve.
It's sad to say, but some people fall into the trap of esteeming the work of the Lord above the Lord of the work. Whenever we let the work becomes more our focus that who we are working for then we have put the cart before the horse. We should never allow such a thing to happen. There should never be a time, no matter how efficient we become in the operation of the anointing, that we become so comfortable with it that we lose that sense of need or dependency upon him.
Jesus said, "I can of myself own self do nothing" (John 5:19, 30). Although he was heavily anointed, he never looked at it as if he was the sole initiator of it flowing through him. He always acknowledged God as his source and depended solely upon him to do the works through him.
It cannot be any different for us. We must remain humble in heart that whatever we do may always serve to glorify the Lord. This is exactly what Paul meant when he said, "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17). Jeremiah said it best: "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 9:24).
Yielding to the anointing also involves being sensitive to how the anointing works. The anointing will oftentimes rise up as a quickening. It may show up with unction or a strong urge to do something that you have in your heart to do. As you learn to trust whatever it is he is leading you to do, that is when the power of God and the conquering life of God can begin to flow. I have had people whom the Lord put on my heart to pray for that at that moment I didn't feel anything. But the moment I laid my hands on them there was a divine energy that rose up from within and suddenly there was a release of the anointing. That is something you never want to take for granted!
Always remember how precious this costly tool of ministry is to you and treat it with great respect. Think of it as stepping into a place of honor where you have been summoned to touch something that is most holy. The very awe of such wonder should always remind us of how small we really are and how powerful the operation of the Holy Spirit really is.
