Many believers find it very difficult to get in the spirit because they struggle to bring their bodies and their minds into submission to the inner man. They can hardly muster up the effort it takes to focus on the Lord with the whole of their being—spirit, soul, and body.
Why is that?
It’s because they are spiritually weak. They’ve spent so much time attending to the natural affairs of life and so little time on spiritual things that their spirits are too feeble to take command of their souls and bodies and bring them in line.
The Bible tells us it’s possible for our spirit to be weak or broken down; and it’s possible for our spirit to be strong (Luke 1:80, 2:40). When we’re spiritually weak, we have a hard time fellowshipping with the Lord and walking in the spirit because the natural part of us (what Romans chapter eight refers to as the flesh or the carnal mind which is governed by our physical senses and human reasoning) will keep pulling us back into the natural realm. By contrast, when we’re spiritually strong, we find that even in times of great natural stress and turmoil, we are able to tune out the distractions around us and tune into the spirit realm to discern the voice and the leading of the Lord.
The first thing we must do to develop a strong spirit is to feed it; and we do that by reading and meditating on the Word of God. I’m not talking about just listening to preaching CDs. They’re fine but they will never take the place of you studying the Bible for yourself. So get out your Bible, get in an attitude of reverence, and read expecting the Holy Spirit to quicken your heart and impart truth to you as you do.
Don’t just use your Bible to hunt up some new revelation. Don’t always search for some bit of information you never saw before. Instead, be “ever nourishing your own self on the truths of the faith” (1 Timothy 4:6 Amp).
Read and fellowship with the Lord about the basic truths of redemption—things like the power of the blood, the name of Jesus, and the wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit. Strengthen your spirit every day by feasting on the strong meat of God’s Word!
Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14–17
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!”