Take Time to Anoint
Anointing with Oil is a Biblical Practice for all Times
Anointing with oil is a physical act that expresses a spiritual truth— that we belong to God and have committed ourselves to his care. In the Bible, anointing with oil had several purposes, including:
Sanctification and Marking Chosen Individuals
Anointing with oil set apart people— or objects —as holy.
Anointing with oil marked someone as important or chosen by God. For example, the prophet Samuel anointed David with oil to mark him as God's chosen king. Mary of Bethany, brave woman that she was, dared to anoint King Messiah by pouring ointment on the head of Yeshua.
Expressing consecration
Anointing with oil was a physical act that demonstrating that people belong to God and have committed themselves to his care. When someone poured oil on a person or an object, it symbolized setting apart that person or object as holy and dedicated to the Lord.
Marking leaders
Anointing with oil set apart Israel's priests and kings as leaders who would mediate God's wisdom to the world.
Marking the Tabernacle
In the Torah, when the Israelites built the Tabernacle in the wilderness, they anointed it with oil to mark it as a place where God's presence came down to earth.
Expressing care for healing
Anointing the sick with oil expressed that God cares for the sick and the infirm and desires to pour forth healing.
Jesus's disciples anointed the sick with oil for healing in Mark 6:13, “They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” And thus they set the precedent for following generations of followers. Many Christian denominations continue to use consecrated anointing oil in liturgies and as a devotional practice.
While some segments of Christianity continue to use anointing oil, it is not required for prayers of healing. Sometimes the laying on of hands is sufficient or a simple command to be healed. However, anointing with oil is definitely an option. In the New Testament the epistle of James 5: 14 refers to using oil as symbolic of the Holy Spirit as a means of contact in the healing ministry:
“Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
In the Torah the Lord’s furnishings were anointed and set apart as holy. Anointing a home with oil is also a way of consecrating one’s dwelling and furnishings to God. “Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy.” (Exodus 40:9)
Therefore in the Bible anointing with consecrated oil demonstrates faith in God’s ability to protect, cleanse and repel evil.
Before applying, the oil should first be set apart and consecrated with a simple prayer, such as, “Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, (Yeshua), we consecrate and set apart this oil for sacred use.”
I read a Facebook post called “Beauty for Ashes” about anointing your home with oil. The post resonated because I also practice dedicating one’s personal space to the Lord.
The post suggested:
Anoint the doors and pray that all who enter your home will “go out in joy and be led forth in peace.” (Isaiah 55:1)
Prayer: “Lord, we set this house apart for your glory. May Your name be honored here forever. Watch over our home and protect it. Just like the words You said to Solomon: ‘…I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.’” (1 Kings 9:3)
Believe for angels to guard every door, window and entry as you anoint these areas. “For He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. . . ” (Psalm 91:1)
Prayer: “May our conversations be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:6)
To this, I add a hearty “Amen,” recalling a time in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles when we invited Rabbi Daniel Lapin to address our conference at Jaffa Gate’s Christ Church. He mentioned how his shabbat table is like an altar where the matters of the LORD are discussed. Suggestion: anoint dining tables to be meeting points where family bonding, deep fellowship, salvation, healing and deliverance are transacted.
“My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:7)
Also bless the bedrooms “for He gives sleep to His beloved” (Psalm 127: 2) and causes the barren woman to be fruitful. (Psalm 113: 9) Our quarters at the Imperial Hotel in Jerusalem were blessed by an Orthodox priest who, together with his wife, also lived at the hotel. He was very thorough. He blessed the insides of the bedroom cabinets. He gifted me with a bottle of anointing oil, and I usually keep a small bottle like this in my handbag. One never knows when an opportunity may arise to anoint somebody for healing or to anoint some place by faith to mark it for divine purposes.
It really is a weapon as well in our spiritual arsenal! I use it often in many of the ways you suggested in your article. I also annoint myself with oil usually every day because of spiritual attacks and warfare. When we are intercessors we are especially targeted and the oil is very powerful. They're really is very little that cannot benefit from being anointed and consecrated with oil!
Hi Christine, thank you for this timely and (dare I say) anointed article. Could you suggest a good source of anointing oil?
Many thanks,
Peter