The Power of Daily Consecration

"For I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.  They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. 

One will say, `I belong to the Lord': another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, `the Lord's,' and will take the name Israel." (Isaiah 44:3-5 NIV84)

There is immense spiritual power in daily consecration.  Bob Jones taught that man was made of six things: the heart, mind, spirit, body, will, and emotions.  Over the past few years, I've made it a habit to open every session with the Lord by saying:  

"Father, I consecrate my heart, mind, spirit, body, will, and emotions to you."  

This is my way of saying, "I belong to the Lord."  However, there is no magic formula.  Internal desire and hunger for God are the driving force behind consecration.  Just as in a healthy marriage, we give ourselves to God because we crave His close companionship.  I'm attached to my own daily confession because this ritual is filled with life for me.  Others have a different way of declaring their commitment to the Lord.  Some people do a lot of fasting.  Some people get a tattoo that expresses their lasting dedication (These are the ones who "write their name on their hand").  Others simply give themselves to abandoned worship or take a walk with God around their neighborhood.  

The most weighty matter is not how we consecrate ourselves to the Lord.  Our different methods of consecration reflect our diverse personalities, callings, and backgrounds.  The important thing is that we develop the driving force of desire for more of God.  This longing and desire is the flame that has the capacity to consume everything else in our lives.  Consecration without desire has no power because it's insincere.  There's no point in performing any ritual unless it reflects what is already bursting out of your heart.

Consecration has the power to remove everything that stands in the way of a deeper relationship with God.  For instance, we reject negative and dirty thoughts to make room for pure and fresh revelation.  We push out bitterness and rejection to make room for perfect love.  We learn to discipline our thoughts and emotions and abide in peace.  Through desire and consecration, we become pure vessels that are ready for the next level of transformative love and power.

When we learn to live this way, then we will find ourselves under a deluge of God's holy love and power, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.  We will find that he's pouring out a flood of anointing over our lives and blessing everything we set our hand to--even when the world around us is falling apart.  Our relationships and vocations will be flooded with light, life, and love.  In the desert places of work and home, life will spring up all around us like "grass in a meadow" or "poplar trees by flowing streams."  This is because when we are truly consecrated to God, we are empowered to release this consecration on everything we touch.  

What does consecration and desire look like for you? 

Photo is from www.JulietGraceDesign.com

When we learn to live this way, then we will find ourselves under a deluge of God's holy love and power, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.