This is an amazing snippet from a book I’m reading called “Breaking the Mold” by Kriston Couchey.

You can download the entire book in PDF format at his website and also purchase a copy if you are interested.

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“SPIRITUAL DEPENDENCY

I was asked by a friend to come to a weekend Christian gathering she and her husband were hosting. I was not a speaker at the meetings, but the Lord gave me a word for it. I felt Sunday would be the day to go to this meeting to honor the hosts who were to speak that day. As the weekend approached, there was a conflict that came up for that Sunday, but I kept my peace in God, and was confident He would work things out.

Friday, I called a local pastor for some information and the conflict was resolved. I mentioned the meetings, and that I wasn’t sure if I was going Saturday or Sunday. He asked to pray with me for clarity. I didn’t feel any need for him to pray, but he was being nice, so I said, “Yes”, and he prayed. It was a generic prayer that asked God to give clarity and direction. I thanked him and hung up.

Saturday, my sense of God’s presence was gone. I tried to rest in God but He was nowhere to be found. I felt as if I had tunnel vision and was in a spiritual stupor. All day as I went about business I sought God for clarity and direction but the unction and fire of God was missing. The day passed and I didn’t go to the meetings because I had no unction to do so. I decided to go Sunday since the day had gone by and I found no peace.

I got up Sunday to the same thing. On the two hour journey I began to fight for my rest in God. I was unable to find it and became frustrated, wondering what was wrong.

The thought then came to me that the problem was the pastor’s prayer. I prayed, breaking off and rejecting the prayer said over me. Suddenly peace and rest from the presence of God overtook me, and the literal feeling of tunnel vision left as my spiritual perception returned.

I went to the meetings, was blessed greatly, and was asked to give the word, which I had told no one I had. The Lord revealed to me over the next few days what had happened.

It was not witchcraft from the pastor.

It was not demonic oppression trying to keep me from giving a word. God was not mad at me or withholding Himself from me.

It was a simple principle called dependency. I had accepted a prayer for me for something I already had established in my life; the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In effect I had turned from the guidance of the inner peace and rest of the Lord in my own spirit to receive what a man had to offer in its place. I cut the cord with the Lord and handed it to a man.

I experienced a very similar experience when the Lord told me to go to the wilderness and quit all ministry work. The very next day I quit all ministry work. Most importantly I came out from the inappropriate subjection to a leader. That dependency tie being severed was like a fresh breeze from heaven. The level of revelation and vision I received after that was like waking from a dream.

BABIES ARE DEPENDENT, NOT ADULTS

When I was a baby I was dependent upon others to teach me, feed me, protect me, and correct my mistakes. This training is so that I might learn how to become a full functioning human being. It is appropriate for a baby in Christ to get teaching and direction from the mature (elders) as to how to hear and walk by the Spirit.

A prayer for clarity might be appropriate for a new believer who has not learned to “hear” the voice of the Spirit. But when a baby grows up and learns how to fend for itself and goes off to college, it does not need to be diapered, hand fed, and put to bed on time.

In the church, when believers learn to hear and know the instruction and voice of the Lord for themselves they don’t need someone to do it for them anymore.

Many in Leadership do not know how to release people to this type of maturity. This is due to lack of understanding what REAL authority and leadership are called to be within the church. This is hard for the current church leadership to accept, but the reality is that the church in its current state is in general NOT walking in its Divine Authority because of this dependency.

The church is full of dependant believers that should be walking in the guidance and authority of the Holy Spirit but don’t know how…Spiritual Dependency robs men and women of their Divine Authority.”
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You can visit Kriston’s blog by clicking here.