The second element of developing a strong spirit is exercise.
One way to exercise your spirit is by simply praying in other tongues. Years ago, when I was first getting started in the things of the Lord, I found my capacity to stay in the spirit was very limited so I decided to increase it by praying a certain amount of time in other tongues. I might start with just 10 or 15 minutes. Then, little by little, I’d increase it until I could pray in tongues for several hours. Jude verse 20 says through that kind of praying you can “build yourself up on your most holy faith.”
Another way to increase your spiritual strength is by yielding more to the promptings of your spirit and less to the cravings of the flesh. Romans chapter six tells us why this is so effective. It’s because the more we surrender ourselves to anything, the more we become slaves to that thing. If we surrender ourselves repeatedly to the flesh, we become slaves of our flesh. If we surrender ourselves repeatedly to the Spirit, we become slaves of the Spirit.
We all know it’s true. The more we yield to anything, the stronger its influence becomes in our lives. The less we yield to it, the weaker its influence becomes. Therefore, if our spirit is prompting us to read the Bible and our flesh is pulling at us to watch television, when we make the choice to read the Bible (thereby denying our flesh and obeying the Spirit), our spirit becomes stronger. If our flesh is pushing us to get angry with someone and we choose to walk in love instead, we build our spiritual strength.
Once you understand this principle, you can exercise your spirit all day long. Simply by choosing to yield to the spirit instead of the flesh, you can get a great spiritual workout!
Scripture Reading: Romans 6:1-23
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!”