As soldiers in the army of God, each one of us is responsible for our own particular jurisdictions. We are accountable, for example, to pray for our city, our state, and our nation. And, thank God, more and more believers these days are doing it.
I know of a pastor in North Carolina, for example, who regularly leads His congregation in prayer to enforce the will of God in their area. Not long ago, when a hurricane threatened, he marshaled them against it. They took their stand and forbid Satan to use that storm to bring destruction to their state. Sure enough, the hurricane never came ashore. It just hovered over the Atlantic Ocean and then moved away.
There’s a pastor in Norway whose church is composed mainly of teenagers and he is teaching them to do the same kind of thing. He’s not just telling them about dating and how to live a moral life or how to enjoy their benefits and blessings in Jesus—he is teaching them how to pray and plant churches! Those teenagers have set their faces like flint and they are taking the world for the Lord.
Somebody might say, “Oh, that’s too extreme. We just want our kids to enjoy themselves and have a good time.”
Maybe so, but I’ll warn you. While our young people are having a good time, the Muslim young people are helping start mosques all over the world. I’ve received word that they have planned to put 120,000 new mosques in the United States alone. That’s their plan.
What’s our plan? What is God telling us to do?
If we don’t know, we must find out. We can’t just sit back and expect God to protect our neighborhoods and our nation all on His own. Each one of us must take our spiritual responsibility and do our part. As soldiers of the Lord, we must diligently guard our post!
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 16:1
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!”