There’s no place in the glorious Church for a celebrity mentality. In the body of Christ, Jesus Himself is the only star. So for the fullness of God’s glory to manifest among us, we must turn our attention away from ourselves and from each other and put it on the Lord alone.
In the American church especially, we place far too much emphasis on pleasing and exalting people. We tend to put our attention on the minister who is standing in the pulpit instead of on God Himself. Then, if we get blessed, we say, “Oh, isn’t that minister wonderful! He really preached with power today.”
When we do that, we make the same mistake the Corinthian church did. They got so caught up in following and exalting ministers that they identified themselves more with the ministers than they did with Christ. They even got into arguments about which preacher was the best. “I’m with the apostle Paul,” said some. “I’m with Apollos,” said others.
God won’t pour out His glory on that kind of attitude! He won’t send us His heavenly fire and let us give some human vessel the credit for it. God Himself is to receive all the glory and praise.
Not any minister.
Not any person.
Just God alone.
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10 – 31
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!”