Anointing oil – Prayer and How to Use it

This post is all about anointing oil.  In this post I will talk about how to pray over it for use, how to store it, how to use it in prayer over yourself or your home.

Before I get into all of that I need to say this, anointing oil is a tool used by the Holy Spirit.  It is not the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, if you don’t have anointing oil it is OK!  It is not God.  It is a tool used by God.  You don’t need to have a special anointing oil from Israel or have it prayed over by specific people to make it better.  If you feel you can’t pray effectively without your anointing oil or that someone won’t get healed unless you use it, you may have turned it into an idol.  This is also never the intention of the Lord for using the anointing oil.

God is still God with or without the oil

You can still pray over yourself and your home without it.

Use of the anointing oil is biblical

The oil was used to anoint kings (1 Samuel 16:1)

It is an offering to God (Exodus 25:1-8)

Commissioning someone into their calling (Leviticus 8:30, Isaiah 61:1-3)

It is a symbol of imparting a blessing. If you see yourself being anointed in dreams or a vision you know God is imparting a blessing.  (Joel 1:10, Psalm 133)

It is used for Sanctification (Matthew 6:17)

It can be used for deliverance and healing (Mark 6:13, James 5:14)

It is used in worship (Mark 14:3-9)

Holy Anointing Oil used only for the Tabernacle and the Levites, it was prohibited to use this formula anywhere else.  Did you know that?  You can read about this formula in Exodus 30:22-33

The anointing oil based on these scriptures is not only to receive whatever it is we are asking from the Lord but to also give to the Lord.  When was the last time your used your anointing oil to give to the Lord in worship?  Anoint yourself and praise God.

We have to remember that the true anointing of God rests upon us once we become born again believers in Christ and get filled with the Holy Spirit.  That is when we have the anointing.  It is then we can say to the mountain, be cast into the sea and it will obey us.  Because His anointing rests upon us.

How to use the Anointing Oil

Personally, I have anointing oil on hand but this is not something I use all the time.  I actually only use it when the Lord tells me to use it.

So, let’s say you want to receive dreams and visions from God, you can anoint the temple/side of your head  or your forehead and pray asking Him to give you dreams before you go to bed.

You can also do the same things over your eyelids if you are praying to see in the spirit realm.

To receive the gift of healing you can anoint the palms of your hand.

Or if you are being commissioned to write a book you can anoint your hands as well before you start writing.

The idea is to anoint the area where you need the empowerment, or impartation.

The same applies if you are praying over someone who is sick you can anoint that area if it’s appropriate, of course.

How to Anoint Your Home

We wrote a post before about cleansing your home before selling it, this post can be used if you feel you have evil spirits/demons in your home. If you are feeling the atmosphere is negative  You can read it here.  It has the prayers and says how to do this if you feel you have evil entities. Follow the instructions, it works!

If you don’t have any demonic spirits in your home then the anointing process is much easier because you are not chasing anything out but you are praying a blessing and covering over your home so that nothing enters in.  Think of it as Moses telling the Israelites to put the blood over their doorposts so that when the angel of death visited the land it would pass over them.  This is the same principle.

Given our current climate, God impressed upon me to write this post because some of you will need to be doing this in this season.  You’ll know when it is time to do it.

Here’s what you do, take the anointing oil and over every window and door to your house just put the sign of the cross in the corner of it. You don’t need to put it in the center from top to bottom or anything like that.   Next thing you know, winter rolls around and your visitors are seeing a giant congealed oil mark on your windows and doors! LOL  Truly, take it easy.  Putting it in the corner is fine.  Today, Jews use a mezuzah at their door and it’s not that big.

Anyway, as you are putting this mark you just need to pray a simple prayer as you make the sign of the cross

With the sign of this cross I am making a declaration that this house belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ that no sickness, death, thief or evil can enter this home.  This oil is a symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ. No weapons that are formed against us or this property shall prosper and any destruction must pass over us, in Jesus name. We are safe and protected under the blood of Jesus. 

It doesn’t have to be exactly like this but you get the idea.  Jesus owns the house. And the oil is a symbol of His blood giving protection and covering to its occupants.

Now I have to warn you, and this is not a joke, once you pray the prayer don’t be surprised that some people can no longer come to your house.  Plans will just automatically get canceled.  Keep your eyes open and don’t force them to come to your house either.  God is just revealing to you there is something on them He doesn’t want in HIS house.  Remember, you gave Him the house.  It is all in the spiritual realm and our war is not against flesh and blood.  They won’t know why or even realize they can no longer come into your house BUT you know because you prayed this prayer.

What kind of oil should you use?

In the bible it was olive oil being used in those days.  If you can afford that, then I believe you should get that as well.  It doesn’t need to come from Israel.  If you don’t have olive oil, use whatever oil you have available.

Are there any other ingredients to use in the oil?

Some ministries/churches put other ingredients in their oil based on how the bible used those ingredients. While some ingredients do have natural healing and medicinal properties the truth is are we using the anointing oil as medicine or a symbol of the Holy Spirit?  Because if you think about it these are two different things.  And as such, this is why I believe people put too much credit in the oil and not the Anointed One. I’m hoping you can recognize the difference.

Are we mandated by the bible to add other ingredients?  No.  The only place in the bible where God gave specific ingredients on the formulation of oil was in Exodus 30:22-32.  He also forbade us from ever recreating that formula again.

Exodus 30:22-32

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Collect choice spices—12 1⁄2 pounds of pure myrrh, 6 1⁄4 pounds of fragrant cinnamon, 6 1⁄4 pounds of fragrant calamus, ²⁴ and 12 1⁄2 pounds of cassia—as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Also get one gallon of olive oil. ²⁵ Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil. ²⁶ Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, ²⁷ the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar, ²⁸ the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand. ²⁹ Consecrate them to make them absolutely holy. After this, whatever touches them will also become holy.

³⁰ “Anoint Aaron and his sons also, consecrating them to serve me as priests. ³¹ And say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is reserved for me from generation to generation. ³² It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy.

The oil is a symbol.  When Jesus came out of the water at His baptism, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove came down on Him as a symbol of His anointing.  The oil is a symbol of God’s love for you and also of the blood of Jesus as we put it over our doors & windows.  Love and the Blood.

When you put it over your door it’s like a symbol of putting the blood of Jesus over your home.  When you anoint yourself I also see it as being covered under the blood; especially, if you are praying for healing.  But it is also a symbol of His love because only through His love and sacrifice do we even have such a tool to use as a representation of Him.  This is primarily why I don’t believe it is necessary to put anything else in it.

How to prepare and pray over the oil

1. If you can buy a separate bottle of oil for this purpose please do so.  If not, pour some into a separate bottle.  Much like what was shared on the communion elements this is going to be consecrated oil when you are done.  Set apart only for the purposes of anointing yourself, your home or others and shouldn’t be used for anything else.

2. If you can have a pastor or someone senior from your church pray over your oil you can do that.  This way you know it is done and you have it ready to go.

3. If you don’t have a pastor to do it for you then you can do it yourself.  When you have separated it take the top (the cover) off the bottle and leave it out/open as you worship God.   So in your worship you are inviting the presence of God into the room.  When you sense the Holy Spirit as you are worshiping and praising God you are creating the atmosphere for that oil to be blessed.  So, worship until you feel the Holy Spirit is in the room.  Again it is making yourself aware of His presence as you worship.  When you feel the presence of the Lord now you can pray over it.  And it is a very simple prayer.

Holy Spirit, I know that all power comes from You, every anointing comes from You.  I ask that You would bless this anointing oil for use as I pray over myself, my family, my friends, my home and others.  I pray that You would use it as an agent of Your love and mercy towards us. I’m doing this according to your Word in James 5:14 where You say that we should anoint with oil when we pray over the sick.  I also do this as a symbol of Your protection over my home and my family.  It is a representation of Your blood, Jesus, that covers. I know that this is completely powerless until You’ve rested on it and made it Holy.  So I am asking You to rest upon it and make it Holy. I’m setting it aside as consecrated and Holy only for Your work Lord.  I thank You for blessing it and enriching it with Your Spirit. Speak to me whenever You need me to use this oil. I pray that in the spiritual realm it is seen as a symbol of Your Presence, in Jesus name, Amen.

Then you can continue worshiping God.  When you’re finished you cover the bottle and that is it.  If God blesses it, it is blessed.

You don’t need to keep saying this prayer you only do it once.  That bottle is kept in a place with your bible, communion elements or whatever you use in worship so you can find it when you need it.

There are ministries that sell different anointing oil with specific formulations for healing, for exorcising demons, for anointing your house, to get breakthrough.  I’m not saying they are wrong to do this because maybe they received a different revelation on the anointing oil that I did.  However, I don’t think we need a specific formulation for each of these things.  I believe once you have the oil consecrated and prayed over it is ready to be used for whatever the Lord asks you to do with it. Because it is His Spirit that is resting on it which will be the only thing you need in every and all situations. Remember it is His power that is at work and not the ingredients or formulation.

Here is a post on how to take communion.

I pray this was helpful for you.  If you have any questions, or further insight on anointing oil, please share in the comments.

Blessings