Sometimes we forget how totally dependent we are upon the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we fall into the same trap the Galatian believers fell into and start trying to live our lives on our own, just by following biblical laws and principles. We take the Word we’ve learned and try to apply it in our own, fleshly strength.
I think if the apostle Paul were writing us today, he might want to say to us what He said to the Galatians:
Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing it? [Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?] Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh?
(Gal. 3:2 – 3 Amp)
Those verses always make me think of what I learned from Phillip Halverson. He was one of the most Holy Spirit-controlled people I’ve ever known. When Mac and I would get together with him and his wife to pray, we’d sing and worship God or pray in tongues and speak the Word until it seemed like we’d cross over a line where we’d become more aware of God and the things of the spirit than we were of our natural surroundings. At that point, our prayers would start to change.
Instead of just praying by ourselves, it would seem as if the Holy Spirit began to borrow our hearts and our mouths and we would be praying by His power. I always noticed when we reached that point, my spirit would become more sensitive and energized. Many times, I started getting answers from the Lord (answers I’d been seeking for a long time) and I’d grab a piece of paper and start writing them down as fast as I could.
Time and again when we would step over that line, brother Halverson would actually jerk under the power of the Holy Spirit and say, “Oh, God, please let the body of Christ know that in this place where we are right now are all the answers and all the solutions. Everything they need is here! It’s all in the spirit!”
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:14 – 27
Source: Devotions for the Praying Heart by Lynne Hammond.
Excerpt permission granted by Lynne Hammond Ministries
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!”