Matthew 4:1-2
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
The key to all spiritual power is private devotion. When I was young, I felt called to leadership and could not wait to get on a platform. I was sure that God would use me and would allow me to bless people. However, God always leads people into the private place first. When Paul became a follower of Jesus, he was taken away for three years in obscurity to learn and grow in his relationship with the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit, he was led straight into the wilderness to pray and fast. Before God does something big through you, he first wants to do something intimate within you.
Of course, not everyone is called to preach on a stage. However, we are all called to have a public ministry. Inside the Church every believer has been given gifts to bless and serve one another, to build each other up to maturity and strength of faith. Outside the church we are all called to do the work of the evangelist, sharing our faith and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us and to work through us.
It is easy to think that there are special people who God has chosen and anointed to impact others. However, God does not have favourites but he does have intimates. Jesus did not operate out of his divinity but his humanity and he shows us all how to live as he did. The source of anointing was private devotion. It is prayer and fasting, prioritising God and submitting to his plans over your desires. Spiritual power comes through prayer and submission.
How could you do this? You could book in an annual spiritual retreat to get away and spend time with God with no distractions. Lots of monastaries will help you. Or you could plan a monthly ‘desert day’ where you set aside a morning for prayer and worship. The Holy Spirit is a person who wants to spend time with you. Before anything else, Jesus dedicated himself to God.
