Thinking, Singing, Thinking, Praying...

So I've been asked to be a guest author on a young lady's ministry blog, Uniquely Yours.  Sweet.  :)

Time to start pondering and praying about what to share.  Any thoughts?

In the meantime, whilst I think and pray, I'm listening to this song, again.  I love it.

Favorite part is the opening:  "You've come to seek and to save those who lost their way.  So seek me or I won't be found!  You've come to keep and sustain those who you have named.  So keep me, oh keep me now!"

He Anoints My Head With Oil

(Scripture quotes are taken from memory and may not be exact.)

Had a cool thought this evening at prayer meeting.  On Sunday nights at our church, we anoint people who are sick with oil (as we are instructed in James 5) and pray for them.  Anointing with oil was the thing that they did when God chose who would be king - "The Lord's anointed."  We are chosen by God.  Psalm 23 says, "He anoints my head with oil, my cup runs over."  To me, I read that and think, "I am his chosen one (anointed with oil), and he causes many blessings, much FRUIT to come of my life, to the point where I am overflowing with it - overflowing with gladness (my cup runs over)."

Then, in John 15 Jesus says he is the vine, and we the branches, and that fruit in our lives is a result of his work.  Olives are a fruit of the vine (or tree, as the kingdom of heaven is also metaphorically described), and olives produce oil.  When we pray over people, we (the branches) lay our hands on them, anoint them with oil (the fruit), and pray in the name of Jesus (the vine).

The Bible also says that "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous man runs into it and is safe."

Jesus is the vine, the source of power, life, healing.  Jesus is our strong tower, and when we trust in his name, we are safe.  Jesus produces fruit.  And we, as we draw our life from him and anoint each other with a sign of being HIS, we ask the Lord to produce fruit through our prayers, through the branches that are our lives, in each other.  For, if there will be fruit, it will come from the life that is in the vine.  It will come from Jesus.

Standing around people laying our hands on them and praying this evening, I had a strong visual of this tree of life...  We are all depending on Jesus for life.  We are all connected to each other by him.  And, as many arms were stretched out to lay hands on the person on whose head we put this oil (the fruit), the picture I was getting was that of living, breathing BRANCHES, reaching out, connecting ourselves to another branch of the tree, asking our STRONG tower, trunk, vine, LORD, to send his power through us and produce fruit in the life of the individual we were praying over.

Cool.  :)

Note To Self:

I would like to make a habit of spending the first part of my day in prayer, committing my day and my ways to the Lord.  I would like to make a habit of acknowledging him in all my ways, and at the end of every day, rather than focusing on my setbacks and “Failures,” or the lies that tell me I’ve been a failure, I want to thank the Lord for being with me and being faithful.  Even when I can’t see very well, and when I am discouraged.  He IS still there, and He IS still my provider, my leader, my teacher, and protector.  I need to trust in him.  I need to develop an attitude of gratitude that replaces my fears completely.  

HE is in me.  And HE is not a failure; I am his, and he is mine.  And I am HIS success.  He has saved me.  And there is NOTHING I have to do to make that any more valid.  It is truth.  It stands.  

Time to claim some truth over my life.  Time to pray with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, which tells me that I am His and that He is my leader who loves and protects and defends me.  

The TRUTH will set me free!

I will trust in the LORD!