In her book "The Costly Annointing" Lori Wilke describes some Christians that whet my spiritual appetite. These descriptions cause me to set personal goals. See if they do the same for you. Here are the opening paragraphs of three of the chapters.

A Hidden People. The pathway to a life of annointing in the Spirit is the pursuit of continual hiddenness with the Lord. This hidden life in God means ultimate death to soulish and fleshly motivations. It means doing what we do for no other reason than to please God and obey His will. The source of all strength, significance and spiritual power comes from a history of seeking God in "the secret place." It is a personal, intimate relationship with the Almighty that imparts wisdom, character and motivation to a special group of individuals, "a hidden people."

A Prophetic People. There is a call going out in this hour for a people who will hear, speak and demonstrate the desires and purposes of God. He seeks a people who will not compromise in the face of all resistance or temptation to quit, but will press in and prevail! These people are provoking, persuasive and very prophetic. These are they for whom the Lord searches and seeks and from whom the devil runs and recoils. There are many descriptive terms for this remnant, this Bride, this Elijah Church. One thing is certain, though: They are part of God's plan. They are a prophetic people.

A People of War - The Army of God. There is an army of believers being gathered and equipped in these days who will be skilled in all the weapons of spiritual warfare. They will be those who have understanding of the times and insight into the ways of God concerning Kingdom conquest. Their discernment in spiritual things and submission to the leading of the Spirit will give them great advantage over previous generations of warriors both in the Kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. They view the Kingdom of God not as a term or an idea to be debated, but as the powerful reign of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of Lords.

Yes folks, I want to be a person like those described above. The good part is, God wants to make each one of us like this. We don't see many like this though because only a few are willing to pay the price. Annointing at this level is costly. When you seek this the first thing God will tell you is your pocketbook, schedule, family, possessions, career, church, ministries...hand 'em over. You don't own them anymore. They're His. Maybe He'll give them back to you, maybe not, but first you must give them to Him. If you're not willing to give any one of them up at His command, it's an idol. Game over. Shall we go further?

He'll issue some tough commands like forgive, give up, take up, keep silent, stand firm, and submit. Just how ready are you to obey, and how quick are you about it? Things like this are what separate David's mighty men (and women) from the rest of the army.

A normal life? Forget it. People on the cutting edge with Him don't lead normal lives in the way we understand "normal". They may work right beside you at the job, but if you get to know them you'll find they're not like others. Their personal habits, values, and schedule are radically different. They have to be.

Are you up for it? Start with one simple step. Tell God you want all He has for you, and that you want to go as far and as fast with Him as possible. You'll gladden His heart, and anger the devil. Then get ready for a time of teaching where you realize you're wrong about a great many things. Get ready for testing where you learn to be an overcomer. And get ready for a level of joy you've never believed possible.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2002

Answers

I AGREE WITH YOU AND THE ARTICLE I AM INSPIRED BY IT TO KNOW THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE ON THIS PATH I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK MAYBE IT WAS ONLY MY IMAGINATION THAT AS CHRISTIAN WE COULD OPERATE AT THAT HIGHER LEVEL AND BE HIDDEN IN THE LORD AND SEPERATE LIKE DAVIDS THIRTY FAMOUS THIRTY WHO DID INCREDIBLE THINGS FOR GOD. A LOT OF TIMES EVEN OTHER CHRISTIANS DONT UNDERSTAND GOD BLESS YOU FOR PUTTING THAT ARTICLE OUT THERE AND MAY THE LORD CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE YOU.

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2003