Sometimes when we think about the supernatural manifestations of the Spirit in the book of Acts, we think of them as occurrences peculiar to people who lived in another day and time. We’re tempted to shrug them off and say, “Those things happened to people in the Bible, not to normal Christians like us.”
But the fact is, they should be happening to normal Christians like us! That’s the whole reason the book of Acts was written. God gave it to us as an example. He wanted us to have a pattern so that we could see what we—as ordinary Christians—have a right to expect. The experiences of those first disciples were recorded so that we could walk in their footsteps and see the same glorious manifestations of the Spirit that they saw.
Jesus said we could do it. He said if we would only believe, we would see the glory of God. For the most part, however, we haven’t actively sought after and believed for that glory. We’ve been passive instead and left everything up to God. “If He wants us to have it,” we say, “He’ll send it. We’re just waiting on Him.”
The truth, however, is just the opposite. God is waiting for us.
He has already declared that He wants us to have the manifestations of His Spirit. He has already provided and promised them. Now He is waiting for us to believe for them. He is waiting for us to fight Satan who has tried to steal them and fervently contend for them in prayer until they come!
We won’t do that, however, as long as we’re content to be just a little “Bless Me Club.” We won’t do it if all we care about is having a nice, happy comfortable life. For us to shake off our complacency and start contending for the manifestations God has for us, we must be more like Paul and start focusing on the heavenly vision God has given us. We must keep our eyes on hope of our heavenly calling and remember that:
- We are called to be changed from glory to glory into the image of Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18).
- We are divinely designed to be the dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:22).
- We are destined to demonstrate to the world His virtue, power, and perfection, and if we don’t do it, multitudes of souls will be lost (1 Peter 2:9).
When we set our hearts on those truths, we’ll quickly realize just as the first disciples did that to carry out our divine mandate, we will need powerful manifestations of the Spirit—and lots of them. We’ll get hungry for those manifestations and go after them in prayer. We’ll do what the disciples did in Acts chapter two and press into God until the fullness of His power falls on us again.
So let’s get with it! Let’s set our sights once again on the New Testament standard. Let’s start believing to see the glory of God.
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:9
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!”