Do you know what thrills me most about Rees Howell’s testimony?
The fact that when it came right down to it, he found himself unable to surrender himself totally to God. In his spirit, he wanted to, but his soul and flesh were stubbornly resistant.
Oh, my! How many believers have been caught on the horns of that dilemma? How many have found themselves too weak to lay on the altar all the things that God requests?
Truth be told, we have all found ourselves in that position at times. But, praise the Lord, what the Holy Spirit did for Rees Howells, He will do for any one of us who ask Him! Writing about the experience, Brother Howells said:
“I wanted to do it, but I could not. Your mind is keen when you are tested, and in a flash it came to me, ‘How can self be willing to give up self?’….
“Then the Spirit spoke again. ‘If you can’t be willing, would you like Me to help you? Are you willing to be made willing?’… ‘Take care,’ the enemy whispered. ‘When a stronger person than yourself is on the other side, to be willing to be made willing, is just the same as to be willing.’… I bowed my head and said, ‘Lord, I am willing.’ … How I adored the grace of God! It is God who goes so far as to give us repentance. It was God who helped me to give up my will. There were some things He had asked for during the week that I was able to give, because I was the master of them, but when He asked me to give up my self and my will, I found I could not—until He pulled me through.”4
Isn’t our Lord wonderful? Whatever He asks of us, He gives us the strength to do.
Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:13
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!”