Since it’s the quality of our faith and not the quantity of our prayers that makes the difference, one question we should ask ourselves before we pray is: “What are we believing?”
That may seem like a simple and obvious question, but it’s worth asking because many times when we are pleading with God to change a situation, we don’t actually believe He will do it. We are using prayer like someone might play the lottery, believing the odds are against us but figuring it can’t hurt to try.
That’s not faith.
Faith is “the assurance … of the things [we] hope for … the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]” (Hebrews 11:1 Amp). When we’re praying in faith, we are sure that God is hearing and answering us. We are convinced He is willing and able to change the circumstances around us. We hold to the Word that God has quickened to our hearts as absolute proof that what we are asking will come to pass.
Hebrews 11:5 says that’s the kind of faith Enoch had. He didn’t have a spirit of doubt on him. He didn’t say, “Well, I don’t know whether I can walk with God or not.” No, Enoch so strongly believed that he said, “I will walk with God!”
How do I know he said that?
I know because those who have the spirit of faith “believe and therefore speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13). The spirit of faith says what it believes. If we’re in faith, we won’t say one thing in prayer and another thing when we’re talking to our friends. We’ll speak the Word over the situation all the time.
That’s the kind of faith that pleases God and produces answers to our prayers.
Scripture Reading: Genesis 5:21 – 24
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!”