Some years ago during a prayer conference in Ozark, Alabama, I experienced the kinds of heights the Holy Spirit can take us to if we will delight in the Lord. On the first night of the conference, I fell under the power of God while I was praying. As I lay there, an angel came and touched me on the shoulder. There was such power in His touch I jumped and started to cry out, but he put his fingers to his lips and said, “Sh-sh-sh.” So I stayed quiet.
Together the angel and I began to go up. We went out of the building into the night sky. It was beautiful. The stars were right there, seemingly so close. Then we began to shoot through the sky at great speed. It would take too long to detail all that happened. But I can tell you this: before the visitation was finished, the angel had escorted me to places all over the earth. He had taken me to see groups of people who didn’t know Jesus, people who are in bondage because they haven’t heard the Gospel.
I saw frightful looking, red-skinned people dressed in animal skins who were chewing on bones. (I wondered if they were cannibals.) I saw Eskimos with their beautiful children. I saw Italians who looked up toward heaven with warm, brown eyes. I visited people all over the world.
The most amazing thing was that as I looked at them, God caused me to love them all. My heart went out even to the primitive people who looked so scary. God put such compassion for them inside me that I wanted to gather them to myself as if they were my own children.
God wants to give all of us that kind of compassion now. He wants to give us His love for people so we can pray for them with power and passion. And I know because of what happened to me on that marvelous spiritual journey, He can do it!
Scripture Reading: John 3:16 – 18
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!”