If you want to see what it’s like to be right one minute and wrong the next, read about what happened when Jesus asked the disciples the crucial question: Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?
Their initial answer to that question is quite interesting. They said that some folks thought Jesus was John the Baptist, some said He was Elijah, and others thought He was Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Such ideas might sound wild to us but to the Jews of Jesus’ day, they made perfect sense. In light of what they knew from the Old Testament Scriptures and what they could figure out with their own human reasoning, those ideas seemed very spiritual.
Of course, they were all wrong. (Man’s mind always comes up with the wrong answer about spiritual things.) So to clear things up, Jesus asked the disciples a second question. He said, “… who do you say that I am?”
Peter—the first to speak up in most every situation—seized the opportunity and spoke the words that would be quoted for eternity, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Talk about a great moment! That was one of Peter’s finest. For once, he spoke not from his head but from his heart and got the answer 100% right.
Even Jesus commended him! “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,” He said, “for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but My Father who is in heaven.” (v. 17).
Notice, Peter didn’t just figure out that revelation on his own. It came to him by the Holy Spirit. It came not from the mind of man but from the mind of God.
Those kinds of divine revelations are the keys of the kingdom of heaven. They open every door for us. Whatever we bind on earth by revelation will be bound in heaven. Whatever we loose by revelation will be loosed.
Even the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church when she walks in the right-now revelation of God.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:1 – 17
Source: Devotions for the Praying Heart by Lynne Hammond.
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!”