What will we do when it’s time for souls to be condemned to hell? What will it be like to stand there and watch as people are thrown into the lake of fire forever? Will we think, Did I know any of them? Could I have done anything that would have kept them from going there?
That question has become much more important to me than natural questions, such as whether or not the dog gets a bath this week.
I’ve discovered that when you become truly hungry for God and revival comes to your heart, one thing that happens to you is that you become more aware of heaven than you are of earth. Everything on the other side of the veil becomes very, very real to you.
As you pray, you learn to move from this earthly realm into the realm of the Spirit, where you begin to see with the eyes of your heart “the city foursquare,” in all of its light and glory (Rev. 21).
Such experiences make you more and more hungry for God. They cause your mind to think less about natural things than you think about eternal things – including the destiny of lost souls.
You see, it’s true that the Bible says our thoughts are not God’s thoughts and our ways are not God’s ways (Isa. 55:8). But it’s also true that once we get saved, we can begin to learn to think the way God thinks and live according to His ways.
You can have God’s thoughts. You can be delivered from the perils of the beggarly elements of this earth, including selfish, carnal thinking. God will help you do that. He will give you His desire to see all men saved.
Just continue to delight yourself in Him. Keep your heart wide open to His Spirit. And above all, stay hungry for more of Him!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
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!”