Back in 1978 there were some missionaries who experienced almost heartbreaking delay in their season of increase. I’ve mentioned their story before but it bears repeating.
God had given them a burning desire to reach the nation of Afghanistan for Jesus and the door opened for them to preach the Gospel there on the radio. Those missionaries worked hard. They were faithful to do what they felt God had called them to do.
But they saw no fruit from their efforts. Fourteen years passed without them receiving a single response to their radio broadcast. Think of it, not one in 14 years!
Then some of their friends got on board and began to pray for the Afghan people. At almost the same time, the Holy Spirit moved on a church in America to fast and pray for Afghanistan. The church didn’t even know the missionaries were there. They were just led by the Spirit to start praying.
Four months after those people began to pray, the missionaries started to receive responses to their radio broadcast. Not just a few responses, either. Out of the blue, a thousand letters a week began pouring in from Afghans who wanted to know more about Jesus.
Suddenly those missionaries had more than an open door of ministry, they had an effectual door. They had a door that brought increased fruit into the kingdom of God.
Effectual doors are what all of us as believers are longing for. In every area of life, we want to bear abundant fruit for the glory of God. But such doors aren’t the result of just faith and hard work. They are opened by prayer.
When prayer goes before us, our labors begin to prosper. That’s if we want to increase, we must always make prayer a priority in our lives. That’s why we must—first of all—pray!
Scripture Reading: Colossians 4:2 – 4
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!”