Impartation

I have spent the past two years in an environment that strongly believes in the power of impartation. Before this experience I probably would have stared at you blankly if you had asked me to explain impartation because it was not part of my spiritual life (who are we kidding, I still stare blankly when someone asks me that question).

For most of my first year here I was really confused by impartation. I just did not understand it. People would lay hands on someone else and release an impartation of what they carried, be it healing, faith, a love for tacos…it seemed like everything and anything could be imparted. Regardless, I had examples of people right in front of me who had been prayed for and received an impartation. I could see the fruit in their lives. I couldn’t claim that nothing happened when an impartation was given.

By the end of the year, I was a lot more comfortable with the mystery of impartation. I understood that there was scriptural backing for it (Romans 1:11, 2 Timothy 1:6) and I could see the fruit of impartation in the lives of people around me. I had more peace and patience for the things I won’t fully understand until heaven.

In my second year of school, I went on a trip with a number of high profile leaders where I was part of an impartation ministry team. This was a very different experience because it was specifically related to the impartation of spiritual gifts and anointing. I walked away from that trip with a greater understanding of the sovereignty of God in impartation. Who the Holy Spirit decided to touch truly had nothing to do with me or them. It was the sovereignty of God. I could physically see the Holy Spirit anoint people with spiritual gifts and manifestations. As I laid hands on people, they would fall or start shaking or crying as the Holy Spirit fell on them. It felt random and wild, but it was insanely powerful. There are so many testimonies of people whose lives were radically changed after encounters like the ones I saw.

How do I receive an impartation?

At some point I started thinking of impartation as a blessing and a gift, like a seed that I responsible for bringing to maturity. For example, someone can impart their gift of healing to me, but I am still responsible for believing that God can heal and wants to use me. I am still responsible for praying for the people around me, even if I don’t see 100% healing. One of our pastors says something along the lines of, “I can impart my gift to you, but I can’t impart my history with God.” That has been my experience. I can receive an impartation, but I am responsible for actually stewarding and growing that gift (or seed) so that it produces fruit in my life.

I think one of the biggest keys to receiving an impartation is honour. If you honour the gifting on someone’s life, you open yourself up to receive from them. This is pretty straightforward — even in the natural, if you respect someone’s opinion, you are more likely to ‘receive’ from them or value their opinion. Part of honouring someone is recognising that they have something you want but don’t have. You acknowledge your need for the Holy Spirit to work in your life in that area. In this context, if you are receiving an impartation, you are honouring someone who has gone before you in this area and has a level of victory that you have yet to experience.

Now, when I am in line for an impartation, or when someone prays for something to be imparted to me, I am far less concerned with what exactly is going on. Instead, I choose to acknowledge that this person in front of me carries something that I need — more faith, more breakthrough in healing, more perseverance, etc. By recognising my need, I position my spirit and heart to receive from the Holy Spirit through them. Why would I choose to be skeptical and not receive something I need, when there is a chance I could live openly and humbly, and thereby receive even a seed of something I want more of?

How do I impart something?

When I impart something to someone else, I recognise and thank God that he has worked in my life and given me authority in certain areas. If we’re all walking our own spiritual journey with God faithfully, it makes sense that we are going to have different experiences that have led to different levels of authority in different areas. What he has done for me, he can do for you. It stops being about me, and becomes about what God has done in my life. Because of the abundance of God, I can give away freely what he has given to me.

Practically speaking, impartation is really simple. It’s not a complicated prayer. You can literally pray something like, “In the name of Jesus, I impart to you _____” or, “In the name of Jesus, I bless you with _____.” All you are doing is verbally giving someone else what you have received from the Holy Spirit. The Bible often speaks of impartation in the context of the laying on of hands, so if you are able, lay hands on the person while you are praying.

Wait, what?

Back in September, I did a prophetic activation where I prophesied over a girl I had never met before. But rather than prophesy, I felt really strongly that I was supposed to impart to her a love for journalling as a way to process her life, not knowing that she was in the process of writing out her story. She is a seer, meaning she sees in the spiritual realm. She told me afterwards that when I said that I imparted to her a love for journalling, she actually saw my angel hand a pencil to her angel. What?!

WILD.

Apparently, something really is happening in the spiritual realm during impartation. WHO KNEW.