If I’m ever tempted to think I can pray in faith without meditating on the Word, I remind myself of an incident in the life of one of the greatest men of faith I’ve ever known. He was a powerful minister and the man I consider my spiritual father. Many years ago when he was traveling around the country preaching the Word, he received a letter from his wife telling him that his daughter had developed a growth on her eyelid. It had gotten so big that the eyelid was beginning to droop under the weight of it and the school nurse was insisting that something immediately be done about it.
This minister knew what the Word of God says about healing. He had prayed for healing many times and seen great results. He was preaching the Word day and night. Yet he didn’t pray about that growth and make a faith command the moment he read the letter.
Instead, he folded it up and put it in his pocket. He determined in his heart that later, when he had time, he would properly prepare himself to pray by spending some extra time meditating on the healing scriptures. That way when he prayed about the situation, he wouldn’t be spouting off scriptures by rote; he wouldn’t be just pretending to believe; he would truly be praying in faith.
That night after he finished preaching the evening service and went back to his room, he got out his Bible and began fellowshipping with the Lord over the healing verses he had read so many times. He meditated on them and let them come alive in him again. He settled down upon them so they wouldn’t just be words he remembered in his brain but words that were abiding in his heart.
All night long, he’d meditate on the healing scriptures for an hour, then sleep for an hour or two; meditate for an hour, then sleep for an hour. All the while, he was letting the Word saturate his heart and strengthen his faith. The next morning he got up, opened that letter and commanded the growth on his daughter’s eye to leave.
Do you know what happened?
The growth left. His daughter was healed. Not just because he prayed, but because he prayed in faith.5
Scripture Reading: James 5:14 – 15
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!”