Some people find it hard to believe that God needs praying people to open the door for Him to move on the earth. “God is sovereign!” they say. “He can do whatever He wants to do.”
In a sense, they are right. God is sovereign. He can do whatever He decides to do. And, according to the Bible, He decided to give the earth to the children of men. In His sovereignty, He chose to put man in dominion over the works of His hands. He gave us His Word on it and He refuses to violate that Word.
That’s why He needs us to pray and open doors for Him here. That’s why He calls us, like He called Isaiah, to be “a voice of one who cries: prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [clear away the obstacles]; make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God!” (Isaiah 40:3 – 4 Amp).
Read the book of Acts and you’ll see that’s what the early Church did. They opened the way for every major move of God through prayer. In the very first chapter, we find 120 believers gathered together for a ten-day prayer meeting. Verse 14 says, “All of these with their minds in full agreement devoted themselves steadfastly to prayer, [waiting together]…” (Amp).
What were they waiting for?
They were waiting for the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that they would receive power when the Holy Ghost would come upon them. Those 120 disciples weren’t about to leave the prayer place until they saw the manifestation of those prophetic words.
They saw it too—in a big way.
They saw tongues of fire and heard a sound like a rushing mighty wind. They experienced a spiritual outpouring of such magnitude that 3,000 people were saved in one day. The first Pentecostal church found out right away that it pays to grab hold of God’s promise and pray all the way through!
Scripture Reading: Psalm 8:1 – 9
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!”