It’s time to get honest with yourself. Are you just going to pretend that you’re walking with God, or are you really going to walk with Him? God has laid that choice squarely in your hands.
You might say, “Well, I was intending to get up this morning and pray,” or “I don’t know how I started going the wrong direction because I intended to do it God’s way.”
But God doesn’t bless your good intentions. He blesses your obedience to what He tells you as you fellowship with Him in the Word and in prayer. It is only through close fellowship with God that you receive the answers you need from Him to grow up spiritually and walk in His covenant benefits.
You see, fellowship is a progressive process. It is difficult to fellowship with a baby, both in the natural and in the spiritual realm. That’s why God wants us to grow up; He wants to fellowship with us on His higher level of thinking.
As Isaiah 55 says:
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isa. 55:9 KJV)
Do you know why our thoughts are not as high as God’s thoughts? Because we don’t spend enough time with Him to get to know Him!
The Bible says that in the last days, “the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Dan. 11:32 KJV).
Notice that those who are strong and do exploits for God are not those who can quote scriptures, but those who have grown up enough spiritually to know their God.
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!”
