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The Anointing & Grace
In this powerful message, Pastor Willie Russell unpacks the relationship between God's anointing and His grace, and why both are essential for breakthrough. Drawing from the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel, he reminds us that a closed door in one area of your life doesn't mean God has forgotten you, and that pressing through in faith is never wasted.
Related Sermons
Small Group Guide
Small Group Discussion Guide
"The Anointing & Grace" — Pastor Willie Russell
1. SERMON RECAP
Pastor Willie Russell drew from the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 to explore how God's grace meets us in our areas of greatest weakness and unfulfilled longing. He challenged the congregation to recognize that just because one area of life feels "closed up" does not mean God's grace is absent from the rest of it. Pastor Willie called believers to stop strolling through their faith and start running the race with genuine expectation that God will move on their behalf.
2. KEY SCRIPTURE
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV)
"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
3. ICE BREAKER
Think of a time you waited a long time for something you really wanted, a job, a trip, a piece of good news. How did the waiting change how much you appreciated it when it finally came?
4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Question 1 Pastor Willie pointed out that Hannah's husband loved her, provided for her generously, and gave her a double portion, yet she was still deeply grieved over one closed area of her life. How do we tend to let one unfulfilled longing overshadow the genuine blessings already present in our lives? What does it look like to hold both grief and gratitude at the same time without dismissing either one?
Question 2 Pastor Willie noted that Hannah's rival "provoked her severely" year after year, reminding her of exactly the thing she could not control. He connected this to the way the enemy whispers discouragement into the specific areas where we feel most powerless. Where have you noticed that pattern in your own life, and what has helped you refuse to let that voice have the final word?
Question 3 In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God told Paul that His power is made perfect in weakness. Pastor Willie taught that before the anointing can step in and do its work, we have to first honestly acknowledge that there is a gap, something we cannot fix on our own. Why is that acknowledgment so difficult for most people? What gets in the way of us being that honest with God and with ourselves?
Question 4 Pastor Willie used the image of a race to describe the Christian life, contrasting a church that "strolls" with a church that genuinely runs. He suggested that revival, both corporate and personal, is what keeps believers in motion. What does "running" look like in ordinary, day-to-day life rather than just in a church service? How does a person maintain that pace when the energy of a special season fades?
Question 5 Pastor Willie described a moment during the revival services when the meeting almost closed several times, but the pastor kept pressing and a genuine move of God broke out as a result. He reflected honestly that if it had been up to him in that tired moment, they would have gone home and missed it. Talk about a time when persistence, yours or someone else's, made the difference between missing and receiving something significant from God. What kept that persistence going?
Question 6 Pastor Willie said that Hannah was so specific with God that she did not just ask for "a baby", she asked for a son. He encouraged the group to get specific about the things they have been bringing before God. What does praying with that kind of specificity require of a person's faith? Is there a prayer you have been keeping vague that might need to become more specific?
5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE
This week, each group member should write down one specific thing they have been praying about in general terms and rewrite that prayer with concrete detail, naming exactly what they are asking God for, why it matters, and what it would look like for God to answer it. Keep that written prayer somewhere visible and return to it daily before the next group meeting. Come prepared to share one observation about how praying with that specificity felt different.
6. PRAYER POINTS
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Pray that each group member would have the courage to honestly name the "closed womb" in their own life, the area they feel powerless over, and bring it before God without embarrassment or resignation.
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Pray for endurance in the race, especially for those who are tired, discouraged, or tempted to quietly stop pressing because the answer has not yet come after a long season of waiting.
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Pray that the group as a whole would experience a combustible, corporate faith, where the running of one person encourages others to keep moving, rather than each member carrying their longings in isolation.
7. MEMORY VERSE
2 Corinthians 12:9
"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'"
Daily Devotional
Grace in the Closed Places
1 Samuel 1:5 — "But to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb."
On Sunday, I talked about how God had closed Hannah's womb. Not the enemy. Not circumstances. God himself. And I want you to sit with that for a moment, because I think we often assume that closed doors mean God has forgotten us or that something is wrong with us. But Hannah's story tells a different truth. Her husband loved her. She was provided for. Grace was working in every other area of her life, even while one door remained shut. I have been in places like that myself, where God was clearly blessing me in some areas while something else stayed locked up tight. The danger is that we fixate on the one closed thing and miss the grace that is already surrounding us. Today, I want you to look around at what God has already opened. Grace is there, even in the waiting.
God, forgive me for staring so hard at what is closed that I miss what you have already given me. Help me to recognize your grace at work in my life right now, even in the in-between places. Thank you for loving me through the waiting.
Do Not Give Up the Press
1 Samuel 1:7 — "So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat."
On Sunday, I talked about how Hannah showed up year after year. She kept pressing even when nothing had changed. Even when the woman who provoked her kept reminding her of her lack. That kind of persistence is not easy. I know what it is to want something from God so badly that the waiting starts to wear on you. I know what it feels like when well-meaning people remind you of the very thing you are still trusting God for. But here is what I want you to hold onto today: Hannah never stopped showing up. She never stopped crying out. She never allowed discouragement to become her final destination. Discouragement is a season, not a sentence. The enemy wants you to mistake a delay for a denial. Do not let him win that argument. Keep showing up. Keep pressing. God hears every prayer you have ever prayed over that thing.
Lord, I am tired of waiting, and I am honest enough to admit that. But I am not giving up. Help me to keep showing up before you even when I do not feel like it, and remind me that you have not forgotten a single prayer I have prayed.
Perfected in Your Weakness
2 Corinthians 12:9 — "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'"
On Sunday, I brought up Paul because I wanted you to see that even a great man of God had something in his life that he could not fix on his own. And God's answer to Paul was not a removal of the problem. It was a revelation of grace. God said, my power, my anointing, is made perfect right there in the weak spot. I have learned that the areas where I feel most helpless are often the very areas where God does his most stunning work. But there is a condition. You have to acknowledge the weakness first. You cannot pretend it is not there. You cannot perform your way around it. When I get honest with God and say, God, I cannot do this, I have nothing left, that is when he steps in and does what only he can do. Your weakness is not disqualifying you. It is positioning you.
Father, I acknowledge today that there are places in my life where I have nothing to offer but need. I stop pretending otherwise. Come in with your grace and let your strength be made perfect in exactly those places.
The Dream in Your Womb Is Still Alive
1 Samuel 1:20 — "So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, 'Because I have asked for him from the Lord.'"
On Sunday, I told you that there is something in your womb that has to come out. I meant that. Hannah carried a dream that God himself had placed in her, and no amount of ridicule, no amount of delay, no amount of closed-door seasons could stop what God had already decided. Samuel changed everything. He anointed kings. He spoke the word of the Lord over a nation. None of that happens if Hannah gives up. None of that happens if she decides the dream is dead. I need you to hear me today: the dream God gave you is not dead. It may have gone quiet. You may have stopped talking about it because you are embarrassed that it has not happened yet. But God has not forgotten what he spoke over your life. The process of time does not mean the promise has expired. It means the manifestation is still on its way.
God, I confess that I have nearly talked myself out of believing in what you placed inside me. Breathe life back into that dream today. Remind me that your promises do not have expiration dates, and give me the courage to hold on a little longer.
Get in the Race and Run
1 Corinthians 9:24 — "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it."
On Sunday, I was honest with you. I told you about sitting in that service on Friday night, tired, watching the clock, ready to go home, and then the Holy Ghost broke out and I nearly missed it. I have been thinking about that all week. How many moves of God have I nearly walked past because I was strolling when I should have been running? The Bible does not call us to a leisurely walk through this life. It calls us to run, and to run like we are trying to win. This week has been a week of pressing, praying, and believing. Do not let it end here. Take everything you have received this week and carry it into the weekend, into next week, into the rest of the year. The race is still going. The anointing is still available. God is still moving. So lace up. Do not stroll. Run.
Lord, I do not want to be someone who sits on the sideline watching others run toward you. Set a fire in me that keeps me moving, keeps me pressing, and keeps me hungry for everything you have for me. I am in this race and I intend to finish strong.