Jesus’ entire ministry on earth was a revelation of God’s mercy. He demonstrated it everywhere He went. He continually drew men to Himself by reaching out to them with compassion. In every imaginable way, He embraced them with God’s arms of love.
Again and again, through His acts of mercy, Jesus communicated to every person who reached out to Him that God was willing to do what they asked Him. He let them know that the Heavenly Father wanted to meet their needs. The Gospel of Mark emphasizes that fact by introducing Jesus’ ministry with the following verses:
Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” And Jesus, moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” (Mark 1:40 – 41)
Some theologians say this incident took place late in Jesus’ ministry. But I believe Mark put it first because it so captured the heart of the Lord. “I am willing,” was the primary message of Jesus’ life. And since He is the “express image” of the Father, we know that message expresses the heart of God Himself (Hebrews 1:3).
He is continually moved with compassion toward people. He is always willing and desiring to have mercy on them.
Scripture Reading: Luke 15:11 – 32
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!”