THE SECLUDED WORSHIPPER
(The Life, Ministry, And Glorification Of The Prophetess Anna)
By
Zacharias Tanee Fomum
© 1991, Z.T. Fomum
Published by
the ePublishing unit of the Book Ministry of
Christian Missionary Fellowship International
http://www.cmfionline.org
ztfbooks@cmfionline.org
I gladly dedicate this book to
LYDIE SEN
One of God’s women of the glory in our day.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
THE AUTHOR’S PRAYER FOR HIMSELF AND FOR THE BOOK
NATURAL DESIRES
NATURAL DESIRES SOUGHT
NATURAL DESIRES OBTAINED
NATURAL DESIRES ENJOYED
NATURAL ENJOYMENT TAKEN AWAY
NATURAL ENJOYMENT TAKEN AWAY
SPIRITUAL ENJOYMENT
SPIRITUAL ENJOYMENT CHOSEN
THE LOVER WHO CANNOT DEPART
THE PURPOSE OF GOD IN CREATION
GOD’S PURPOSE IN REDEMPTION
GOD, THE PURPOSE OF LIFE
GOD, THE BELIEVER’S SATISFACTION
THE WORSHIPPER
WORSHIPPING
WORSHIPPING WITH PRAYER
WORSHIPPING WITH FASTING
WORSHIPPING WITH PRAYER AND FASTING
WORSHIPPING WITH FASTING AND PRAYER NIGHT AND DAY
A MINISTRY IN SECLUSION
THE DESIRE TO BE SEEN!
GOD, THE DWELLING PLACE OF MAN
THE ART OF SECLUSION.
THE POWER OF SECLUSION
SECLUDED PROPHETESS.
THE SECLUDED AND THE WORLD
A MINISTRY IN PUBLIC
MOTIVATION
INNER KNOWING
THANKSGIVING
MESSAGE
AUDIENCE
RETREAT
GOODBYE
GLORIFICATION
GLORIFICATION!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OTHER BOOKS BY Z.T. FOMUM
PART ONE
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 3
PREFACE
The Lord laid it on our hearts to write some books about Bible women who distinguished themselves in knowing, loving and labouring for the Lord, mainly in secret or in private. The four books in this series, THE WOMEN OF THE GLORY BOOKS, are as follows.
Volume One : The Secluded Worshipper: The Life, Ministry, and Glorification Of The Prophetess Anna.
Volume Two: Unending Intimacy: The Transformation, Choices, and Overflow of Mary of Bethany.
Volume Three: Winning Love: The Rescue, Development and Fulfilment of Mary Magdalene.
Volume Four: Not Meant For Defeat: The Challenge, Triumph and Faithfulness of Hannah.
The book in your hand, The Secluded Worshipper: The life, Ministry, and Glorification Of The Prophetess Anna
is the first in the series. The other books will be written as the Lord God gives the revelation and the anointing for their being written. Information on the availability of this book and the other books written by us may be obtained via www.cph.cmfionline.org
Chapter 4
INTRODUCTION
The burden of this book has been on me for many years. I first wrote the accompanying prayer topics about the book I had in mind three years ago, so that my praying authors
and I the writing author
might bury the book in prayer before it is written. I had hoped to write the book in 1989, and I did actually attempt to write it then. As I began to write, there were many things that were only truth in my mind and not in my life experience. I consequently stopped the writing of the book, so that I should not write theory. Again in 1990, I fasted and started writing the book, but the Holy Spirit hindered me. Meanwhile my co-workers continued to labour in prayer, and the requirement in prayer hours has been exceeded by a good margin. I am including the prayer topics we wrote for the writing of the book so that you may share our experience.
The Lord has wrought something in my life between 1990 and today, largely in the area of deliverance from sin, deliverance from self, deliverance from the love of the world, deliverance from the love of the things of the world, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and the knowledge of the Lord. I now feel that I can write the book, though with fear and trembling, and not from a position of perfection, but from the position of one who has received unmerited grace to write it.
The Lord is the believer’s all. He is the believer’s everything. He should be sought, found, known and loved. He should be made the believer’s bliss, and out of that knowledge of Him should flow service that satisfies His heart. God seeks lovers who, out of love, will serve Him, and not just servants who, out of duty, will do many things for Him.
In frequent withdrawals of short and long duration, the hungry soul can seek and find the Lord. This will allow for worship and service for Him. It will also provide for a spirituality in this world that satisfies His heart.
To those who are not too carried away with the superficialities of our generation, we offer this book with prayer that the Blessed Holy Spirit be glad to use it for the glory of the Lamb who even now is ministering from the throne in seclusion. To Him be honour and praise.
There are slight changes in the book here presented from the one that was prayed through. we feel that that is how the Lord wants it to be and we give Him praise for that as well.
11th August, 1991
Zacharias Tanee Fomum,
P.O. Box 6090,
Yaounde, Cameroon.
Chapter 5
THE AUTHOR’S PRAYER FOR HIMSELF AND FOR THE BOOK
Lord, thank You for the life that the prophetess Anna lived.
Lord, receive honour for working out such high spirituality in a mortal.
Lord, thank You that You did not keep it all for Yourself but opted to share it with us in Your Word.
Lord, thank You for the encouragement that her life, ministry and glorification bring to me - that if I will only yield myself more fully to You, You can in our day work out the same in my life.
Lord, thank You for the encouragement that her life, ministry and glorification bring to me - that You can, You will in our day, raise many saints of unusual dedication and work out this same quality of spirituality in their lives for the glory of the Lamb.
Lord, thank You for the work You have done in me to take away most of the natural desires that characterized my life as an unbeliever and as a young believer.
Lord, as I have told You again this week, there is only one natural desire left in my life. Lord, it has persisted and I do not know if it is persisting because I am clinging to it or it is clinging because You have kept it there so that You may satisfy it. Lord, I offer it afresh to You. If You do not intend to satisfy it, if You will not be exalted in its being fulfilled, take it away now, O Lord.
Lord, I give You my heart. Own it and never allow it to have any room for any natural desires any more.
Lord, You can bless me in the natural realm since I continue to have a spirit, a soul and a body, but I pray, Lord, that I should not desire any fulfilment in the natural. Lord, grant that all my being be bent, bent in such a way that it cannot be straightened out, in the direction of spiritual desire.
Lord, grant that the salvation of my soul, will, mind and emotions be perfected.
Lord, I know spiritual desire and that desire is twofold: It is to know You, to love You and to live in Your presence and minister unto You. It is also to labour to ensure that all over the world, one billion people come to Your Exalted Son and render total obedience to Him in all things. Lord, as far as I know myself, the ratio of my desire to love You and to labour for You is 1:4. Lord, with that ratio, I am a servant who loves and not a lover who serves. Lord, I do not want to be the servant who loves. I want to be the lover who serves. I want to find all my joy and all my fulfilment in being at Your sight, seeing You, beholding the glory of Your beauty and being lost in worship. I want that to be my constant position from which I will withdraw to go and serve You only at Your command and to return to my place in Your presence immediately when the service is over. Lord, I pray that my heart, my soul and my all may find their home in You, that You be the dwelling place of my total being.
Lord, teach me how to co-operate with You so that the servant-lover will be transformed into the lover-servant.
Lord, I sense that I must spend more time in Your presence in prayer, praise, worship, adoration, thanksgiving, waiting and reading the Word than I spend in ministering in the labour to see people come to You and render an implicit obedience to You in all things. Lord, enable me to discipline myself to withdraw from the presence of man. Thank You that You have recently shown me during my trip to Britain that I can be fully fulfilled in Your presence alone. Lord, O for more of it.
Lord, since the ratio at the moment is 1:4; help me in the next two months to raise it to 1:3 and grant that by the end of the year, it should be 1:2, i.e out of the 18 hours of working each day, 6 will be given to You and 12 spent in Your service.
Lord, grant that I faithfully and honestly record all the use of time so that I will face the figure squarely.
Lord, grant that at the end of 1989, should You tarry, the ratio should be 1:1
Lord, grant that by December 1989 I shall have reached the place of Your call on my life to redeem 20 hours every day for work.
Lord, grant that throughout 1990, should You tarry, I should spend 10 hours in Your presence every day.
Lord, continue to work in me so that some day I shall spend 4 hours in Your presence for every hour that I spend in Your service.
Lord, in order that the work that You have called me to do does not suffer, I pray Lord that You bless everything that I do. I pray that You promote me into the plane of blessing so that the work of serving You one hour will produce fruit that abides one millionfold.
Lord, work in me so that You become and increase as my one Satisfaction and not merely be my one source of satisfaction. I pray, Lord, that what You provide should meet my need but that Yourself satisfy me. Lord, grant that the purpose that You had in creating me be accomplished.
Lord, teach me how to worship You.
Lord, teach me how to worship You with prayer.
Lord, teach me how to worship You with fasting.
Lord, teach me how to worship You with fasting and prayer.
Lord, teach me how to worship You with fasting and prayer night and day.
Lord, grant that I know the deeper dimension of fasting i.e. that which is beyond abstention from food.
Lord, show me the secret of unceasing fasting.
Lord, deepen my experience of fasting and seeking You.
Lord, O Father, grant me a more mature experience of fasting and intimate union with You.
Lord, let me know one year during which I have fasted either totally or partially for each of the 365 days.
Lord, grant that I move up into an experience of walking daily in spiritual revival and renewal.
Lord, teach me deeper things on Fasting and the Spirit-filled life.
Lord, teach me deeper things on Fasting and a Spirit-filled walk.
Lord, teach me deeper things on Fasting and a life full of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, speak to me about a full-time ministry of fasting.
Lord, deliver me from all desire to be seen by man for personal glory.
Lord, deliver me from all desire to be heard by man for personal glory.
Lord, deliver me from all desire to be read for personal glory.
Lord, grant that I die anew and die daily from all desire for glory on earth and glory from earth.
Lord, be my one hiding place.
Lord, open my eyes to the power of seclusion; so that I will desire, seek and labour for it.
Lord, reveal to me the act of seclusion.
Lord, show me how I can be secluded even while rendering public ministry.
Lord, reveal the mighty power inherent in motivation.
Lord, grant that I be motivated in a mighty way for my two-fold ministry — to You and for You.
Lord, deliver me from all other sources of motivation.
Lord, unite my heart to Yours in such a way that what You know and want me to know should flow spontaneously to my spirit.
Lord, make my life an unceasing source of thanksgiving to You for all that You have done, are doing and will do for me, in me and through me.
Lord, grant that each message that You give me to proclaim be clear, specific, authoritative and effective.
Lord, let me have the audience that You have for me each time: the lowly, the poor, the ignorant, the wise, the rich, kings, presidents, rulers, etc, and grant that I be faithful to You and to each in proclaiming what You have in store for me and for them.
Lord, grant me to know in each case when my ministry to a person or persons is over, and give me the courage and discipline not to say another word but to retreat into Your presence.
Lord, teach me how to say goodbye to people, things and places that have been useful in the past.
Lord, grant me to distinguish temporal from permanent relationships, and give me the grace to establish the permanent and dismiss the temporal when its time
