Lately, I’ve been thinking about the church meetings we used to have years ago where we studied end-time events. Someone like Billye Brim who understands Bible prophecy would teach us what was going to happen in the last days. Like students in school, we’d look at prophecies outlined on a blackboard and we’d try to imagine them coming to pass.
But now the days of the blackboards and using our imagination are behind us. These days, we are seeing those end-time events unfold before our very eyes!
We’re watching them on television. We’re reading about them in the newspapers. We’re getting updates about them on the Internet.
With every day that passes, we can see the fulfillment of prophecies gathering like a storm on the horizon. Words like these spoken by the prophet Zechariah, which just a few years ago would have seemed far-fetched or even impossible, now read like today’s headlines:
Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. (Zechariah 12:1 – 3)
Right now all over the world, one of the chief topics of discussion among politicians and diplomats is the nation of Israel. Leaders across the globe are burdening themselves with solving the problem of Jerusalem. It is the most amazing thing! There is simply no natural explanation for it.
Think of all the mighty empires that in times past ruled vast portions of the earth. Today they have vanished without a trace. Where is the Roman Empire? Where is the Babylonian Empire? They don’t exist!
Yet, little Israel, one of the tiniest of all nations (about the size of New Hampshire), restored to life after thousands of years, is capturing the attention of the world. She is budding like a fig tree, sending a sign to all who are willing to see it, that the culmination of the ages has come upon us. The kingdom of God is near.
Scripture Reading: Zechariah 12:1 – 14
On the chilly March night in 1972 when Lynne Hammond took her first step into a life of Spirit-led prayer, she had no idea what was about to happen. All she knew was the hunger in her heart for God wouldn’t let her sleep. In the few short months she’d been born again, her desire to fellowship with Him had grown so strong she could hardly contain it. “Help me, God!” she cried. “I want to know you. I want to be able to talk to you. Please, teach me to pray!”
Suddenly, a heavenly presence flooded the room. Lynne sensed waves of spiritual fire sweeping over her and a beautiful language began to flow like a river from within her. Although she’d never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she knew instantly, without a doubt—this was God!
What began that night soon blossomed into a life of prayer that ultimately became a ministry of prayer when, in 1980, Lynne and her husband, Mac, founded Living Word Christian Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Under Lynne’s leadership, the prayer ministry at Living Word has become an internationally recognized model for developing effective pray-ers in the local church.
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”