 |
| Are you quenching the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life? |
Blocking the Holy Spirit
Are You Blocking the Flow of the Holy Spirit?
J. LEE GRADY
A
few years ago the Lord challenged me about my level of spiritual hunger.
He showed me that even though I had stood in many
prayer lines and repeatedly sung the words, "Lord,
I want more of You," I wasn't as passionate for Him as I thought I
was.
My church sponsored a conference on the Holy Spirit.
At the close of one service, I was lying on the floor near the altar, asking
God for another touch of His power.
Several
other people were kneeling at the communion rail and praying quietly for each
other.
Suddenly I began to have a vision. In my mind I could
see a large pipeline, at least eight feet in diameter.
I
was looking at it from the inside, and I could see a shallow stream of golden
liquid flowing at the bottom.
The
oil in the giant pipe was only a few inches deep.
I began a conversation with the Lord.
"What
are You showing me?" I asked.
"This
is the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life," He answered.
It was not an encouraging picture; it was pitiful!
The
capacity of the pipeline was huge—enough to convey tons of oil. Yet only a
trickle was evident.
Then I noticed something else: Several large valves
were lined up along the sides of the pipeline, and each of them was shut.
I wanted to ask the Lord why there was so little oil
in my life. Instead I asked: "What
are those valves, and why are they closed?"
His answer stunned me. "Those represent the times when you said no. Why should I increase
the level of anointing if you aren't available to use it?"
The words stung. When had I said no to God?
I
was overcome with emotion and began to repent. I recalled different excuses I
had made and limitations I had placed on how He could use me.
I had told Him that I didn't want to be in front of
crowds because I wasn't a good speaker.
I
had told Him that if I couldn't preach like T.D. Jakes does, then I didn't want
to speak at all.
I
had told Him that I didn't want to address certain issues or go certain places.
I had placed so many cumbersome conditions on my obedience.
After a while I began to see something else in my
spirit. It was a huge crowd of African men, assembled as if they were in a
large arena. And I saw myself preaching to them.
Nobody had ever asked me to minister in Africa, but I
knew at that moment I needed to surrender my will.
All I could think to say was the prayer of Isaiah: "Here
am I. Send me." (Isaiah
6:8).
I
told God I would go anywhere and say anything He asked. I laid my insecurities,
fears and inhibitions on the altar.
Three years later I stood at a pulpit inside a sports
arena in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
As
I addressed a crowd of 8,000 pastors who had assembled there for a training
conference, I remembered seeing their faces in that vision.
And
I realized that God had opened a new valve in my life that day when I was on
the floor of my church.
Because
I had said yes, He had increased the flow of His oil so that it could reach
thousands.
Many of us have a habit of asking for more of God's
power and anointing. But what do we use it for? He doesn't send it just to make
us feel good.
We love to go to the altar for a touch from God. We
love the goose bumps, the shaking, the emotion of the moment.
We
love to fall on the floor and experience one filling after another.
But
I am afraid some of us are soaking up the anointing but not giving it away.
Our
charismatic experience has become inward and selfish. We get up off the floor
and live like we want to.
Pentecost is not a party. If we truly want to be
empowered, we must offer God an unqualified yes.
We
must crucify every no. We must become a conduit to reach others, not a reservoir
with no outlet.
Search your own heart today and see if there are any
closed valves in your pipeline.
As
you surrender them, the locked channels will open, and His oil will flow out to
a world that craves to know He is real.
Special announcement: If you live in the Orlando area,
Lee Grady will be speaking at a special event at the Charisma offices on
Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 pm. He will be launching his new book, Set My Heart on Fire from Charisma House. To
reserve a free seat, get your ticket here.
J. Lee Grady was editor of Charisma for
11 years before he launched into full-time ministry in 2010. Today he directs The Mordecai Project, a Christian charitable organization that is
taking the healing of Jesus to women and girls who suffer abuse and cultural
oppression. Author of several books including 10
Lies the Church Tells Women, he
has just released his newest book, Set My Heart on Fire,
from Charisma House. You can follow him on Twitter at @LeeGrady or go to his website,themordecaiproject.org.
Readers are Leaders! Subscribe
now and get 3 magazines for the price of 1. Get Charisma, Ministry Today and
SpiritLed Woman all for $24. YES -
Sign me up!
3 Reasons Why you should read
Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's
presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Click
here to draw closer to God!
http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/28022-are-you-blocking-the-flow-of-the-holy-spirit
RELATED POSTS:
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment