I was praying the other day, asking God to fill me with His Spirit for a message I was preaching. On a dime, these words jumped into my mind, so clear that I wrote them down:
“It will be everything or nothing. You will be Spirit-filled or not. Period.”
It took me aback, initially. What? All or nothing? Is that even possible? But that’s not what he meant. He meant that he’s not interested in anointing my sermons but leaving my parenting to my own devices. He won’t fill me for public ministry and ignore my prayers, my vacuuming, my driving, my free time, my conversations with the barista at Starbucks or the punk kid at the Superstore. He wants my whole life to be touched, graced, empowered, anointed, filled. All of it. Or nothing.
Imagine that! Spirit-filled driving through traffic! Spirit-filled household chores! Anointed discipline for my kids! Spirit-filled reactions to meetings! To math! To migraines! To breakfast! To blogging! To bedtime! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
Yup. So to nail this message home, I’ve been doing a lot of praying: “Fill me, Lord. Fill me with Your Spirit.” Twenty times a day. Forty. Maybe a hundred. Not compulsively, not out of a legalistic expectation. Excitedly.
And you know what? My perspective on almost everything is changing. My joy level is rising. My angst level is dropping. My ability to minister unselfishly to others, even when I’m tired and they don’t deserve it and they’re “just” my family is increasing. His voice seems clearer. His presence more palpable. His touch more noticeable. Why should this be surprising? But this is absolutely crazy.
Anointed, even.