After everybody had asked brother Hagin to share with them his confession formula, I went with a group to have lunch with him and put forward a question of my own. “Brother Hagin,” I said, “I know you received faith for healing by confessing scriptures. I know you were raised up from your deathbed by standing on the Word. But I want to ask you something. Did you pray too? Did you talk to God and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit?”
He dropped his fork and looked at me like I was crazy. “Well, of course, I prayed!” he said. “That goes without saying!”
At that moment, I realized that brother Hagin’s entire life was based on his fellowship with the Lord. That’s why he walked in so much victory. He always got in the spirit and in the presence of God and let the Holy Spirit talk him through every single challenge.
It never occurred to him that any believer would make the mistake of trying to pray or walk by faith without first doing that one simple thing.
At one time or another, however, most of us have done it.
Dearest pray-er, if your prayer life (or just your life in general) has gotten too hard or too complicated; if you aren’t finding the exact answers you need to meet the specific challenges you’re facing, go back to that one thing. Put down all the formulas, steps, and principles for a moment (wonderful as they are) and connect with the Holy Spirit.
Follow His promptings as you sing, worship, pray in tongues, or read the Word. Focus your heart and mind on the Lord until He fills your consciousness with Himself. Stay with it until you step over the line and find yourself in the spirit.
As brother Halverson used to say, “In that place are all the answers and all the solutions. Everything you’ll ever need is there.”
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:38 – 42
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!”