The Anointing

He will go before the Lord as a forerunner, with the same power and anointing as Elijah the prophet. He will be instrumental in turning the hearts of the fathers in tenderness back to their children and the hearts of the disobedient back to the wisdom of their righteous fathers. And he will prepare a united people who are ready for the Lord’s appearing. Luke 1:17 TPT

John the Baptist appears to have taken the vow of a Nazarite. Through Gabriel’s angelic proclamation, he was set apart for God from birth. He was all that Samson of the Old Testament was not. What did John use the power of his anointing for? Scripture does not indicate that he was a father, or that he had any children. And that why it is all the more striking that John should be given an anointing to affect both fathers and children. Seemingly with no qualifiers, he was called and empowered to speak to families.

The Holy Spirit empowered John to affect the hearts of those who heard him, which only the Holy Spirit can do. Fathers’ hearts were being moved toward their children and children’s hearts toward their fathers. Unity in the family (and in the church) promotes an atmosphere for readiness to see Christ.

Toward the end of John’s ministry, his anointing also led him to defend biblical marriage, when he courageously spoke out against Herod’s unlawful marriage to Herodias (his brother Philip’s wife), though it ultimately cost him his life.

God’s anointing may lead us to minister to those outside of our own experience. It may be uncomfortable, or even dangerous. Have you been called to something you feel is difficult, maybe even impossible? Are you out of your comfort zone and out of your depth? What a wonderful position to be in to ask for God’s anointing. Ask Him today, for His Holy Spirit, to do what you cannot!

—Paul