When I was a student in Bible College I had to preach in a chapel service before the student body and staff. I had studied well and was prayed up, but still was a nervous wreck. Public speaking was not what I wanted to do, but I had to accomplish this. When it was my turn to speak I went to the pulpit and dug in.

The words flowed out of my mouth with grace and wisdom. I was saying things that weren’t in my notes. I was amazing myself. When the service was all over and my partners had finished their words of encouragement, I walked down the back hallway alone toward my next class. There in that solitude I broke down and cried like a baby. God had used me and spoke through me. I had never experienced or expected that. An anointing had come upon me as I preached that brief message, and it was beyond my comprehension.

I learned an important lesson that day: God’s anointing is above and beyond my abilities. And God’s anointing covers all my weaknesses and doubts. That anointing has been there many times since then, and sometimes not. I’ve learned I need His anointing.

What has been your experience with an anointing?