I can’t count the times I have told people who come to me for prayer or counseling, “You need to spend more time with God.”
So often these same people never receive their deliverance because they allow themselves to remain trapped in the business of life.
However, I remember one woman who did receive her deliverance. When I first saw her, my heart went out to her because she always walked into church with her head down, looking so unhappy.
So I prayed, “Lord, I know this woman needs more of You. If there is anything I can do, I’d like to help her. Show me how to talk to her without scaring her off.”
Not long after praying that prayer, I went over to this woman after the Sunday morning service. I took her hand and casually said, “If you ever want to talk to me, I’m available.”
The very next week, the woman called me and said, “I’d like to come in and talk to you.”
When she came in, I started asking a few questions to get to know her a little better. She began to cry as she told me the horrible story of her life.
As this woman talked to me, I could see why she always seemed so sad and insecure. Her life had been a tangled mess from the time she was born to the present. As I listened to her awful story, I began to weep with her.
As I sat there crying, I thought, Now, this is no good! I was going to be a help to this woman, not a hindrance! But, Lord, I don’t have an answer for any of this. Please show me what to do.
Immediately the Lord spoke to my heart. “Just get her to My throne,” He said.
Well, I can do that! I thought.
So after the woman finished talking, I said to her, “Let’s pray. I want you to tell the Lord everything you just told me.”
So she did. Both of us cried as she talked to the Father for a long, long time, pouring out her heart before Him. But by the time this woman was finished, God had mightily delivered her!
She was so filled with joy and her deliverance was so marvelous that no human being could take any credit for it. We were just consumed with God’s presence, and in that glorious presence, this woman was completely set free by the mighty hand of God.
Today this woman is in a position of church leadership. She walks with her head held high and is a dynamic powerhouse for God. At one point she told me, “You know, deliverance is wonderful, and I so appreciate what the Lord did for me that day. But the greatest thing He has ever done for me is keep me in perpetual deliverance through my fellowship with Him.”
This is exactly where most Christians miss it. God gloriously sets them free from sin, bad habits, sickness, and so forth. But because they don’t maintain that deliverance through regular fellowship with God, they allow themselves to slip back into bondage.
My friend, God isn’t just your deliverer for today. God is a deliverer to you every single day of your life! The Bible says that He hath delivered you! (Col. 1:13.) From now throughout eternity, God hath and He will continue to deliver you.
You may think of Jesus as your one-time Savior who saved you on the day you were born again. But Jesus is your Savior every day! He saves you out of the biggest messes!
He has miracles for you every day, if you will only believe in Him and depend on Him for your salvation and deliverance in every situation of life.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
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!”