Lara

I have some lingering questions in my mind about what is commonly referred to in Christian circles as the "anointing". I've heard things like their is a price to pay for the anointing. I've also heard that the anointing attracts attack from the enemy. There isn't anything directly written in the bible to support these statements. So my questions are: (1) Is there really a price to be paid for the "anointing"? (2) If yes, to the above why? (3) Does the anointing really attract darkness? (4) If there is nothing explicitly written in the bible about this then why do people push these ideas? I have struggled with this in the recent past, since I've been told because of the "call" of God on my life or my "gifting" I will be a target for the enemy and the implication is more so than others. I have struggled with this because I have had to face alot of war spiritually. I have wondered if this was really so or if these people were unknowingly "cursing" me by saying these things. Then in the midst of my misery I've thought why would I want the "anointing" if I am just going to suffer for it. Any light that anyone can shed on these matters would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much. This really did encourage me. I've been feeling quite concerned of late about my situation. This brings some added perspective to what I'm facing. I've had so many disappointments in the past and sometimes it seems as though others are getting ahead but you are purposely being held back. Sometimes you start to wonder why it is that others seem to be so fortunate and your life seems to be nothing but one struggle after another. I've also felt very useless as I know I have talents which can be used but no one seemed interested in giving me a chance. Sigh...I guess its just about having patience and trusting God.

Thanks WhiteShadow for your repsonse. It was very helpful. Astra, the latter part of your response about spending time with God etc was helpful however just one thought. Being a child of God doesn't necessarily distinguish me. What happens in the case where there is more than one child of God applying? I am sorry but I am not at the place where I can be enthused about God and his provision. I am just trying at this point in time to figure out the true gospel from the prosperity gospel and so I am sceptical about anything which has God supplying miraculously what I want.

I'm having a mini battle in my mind and emotions here. If all goes well I'll be finishing my masters in June next year. I have already started searching for a job. However, I am not feeling very hopeful as I feel as though there is nothing to really distinguish me from other candidates. I had the opportunity to see someone else's cv a few weeks ago and it was more or less the same as mine except that the schools were different but their qualifications and skills were more or less the same. I have the added burden of not have EU citizenship so that may make it harder for me to get a job. The funny thing is when I made the decision to stay here I thought it was influenced by God somewhat as I thought I'd gotten some confirmation that I was making the right choice. I've been doing research and entry level positions in my field are very hard to come by now. The market is very competitive. And I had bad experiences before trying to find a job prior to starting my masters. The religious establishment says that if you pray and have faith and believe then all things are possible. I would like to believe that but I also believe in being practical. I've been praying and fasting about this and other things. However, after reading about what one person went through to find a job I decided it may be best to put contingency plans in place in case what I want doesn't materialize. Does this mean I lack faith? I am sorry to be like this but I've been burnt with this faith stuff before. Does anyone have any thoughts on my situation?

I am currently in the final year of a 2 year taught masters course and one of the courses this semester had the stipulation that students must either submit 2/3 of the assignments done at a satisfactory level or receive a grade of 4 or above in the end of term test to be admitted to the final exam. For some reason...things always came up and I couldn't seem to bring myself to complete the assignments and it got to the point where it made no sense trying anymore since I wouldn't have the required number assignments anyway. When that realisation hit home, I became increasingly anxious as I remembered how things had gone for me last semester in another course taught by this professor. I'd missed the required number of assignments and I had messed up the test and I had to end up doing supplementary assignments to be admitted to the exam. At the beginning of the semester I'd prayed that I would be able to submit the assignments and that I wouldn't find myself in that predicament again but some how it seemed as though that that prayer had gone unanswered. The week of the test I was under a lot of pressure as I had a presentation for another course due the same day as the test. During that week I prayed for guidance as there was so much material to cover and I really hadn't done any reading in weeks for the course. I remembered a course from my undergrad days that I'd struggled with and how I'd had the idea to look at the past exams to prepare and how I'd come out of that skirmish with an A- which wasn't bad considering I'd failed the midterm. I decided to do the same thing.I was worried all the time however. I ended up pulling an all-nighter and went to the exam with only 2 hours of sleep. I did the test but didn't finish and the question I didn't finish was worth 30%. I was disappointed but still encouraged by the fact that I'd "heard" right in terms of how to focus my studying. When I looked at the test solutions I wasn't very hopeful of getting the required 4. I remember praying to God and asking him to change my answers and make the wrong things right. I had a dream the following night and part of the dream was that I had received a test I'd taken from one of the teaching assistants in my department who'd just finished marking it. Some of the answers had been wrong initially but then they were marked right because of some mistake on their part. When I looked at the grade on the paper in the dream it was a 6 which is the highest grade possible. I remember feeling so shocked in the dream that I'd done that. I wondered if that was a sign of things to come but I thought to myself no way. There is no way what I wrote deserves a 6. Anyway, last night I received an email from my professor telling me that I'd been admitted to the exam and I was so happy. I got a 4 which was the required grade. I'd been so worried that I wouldn't make it. He also said that he'd made mistakes in his solutions so he had to update the solutions he'd posted online since they may have been misleading. So there was some correlation between that part of my dream and what happened in reality. I am just grateful to God that I passed and that I didn't have to the face possible alternatives of what would happen to me if I hadn't gotten the required mark to be admitted to the final exam.