In this day and hour, every member of the body of Christ (not just the “intercessors”) must take up his or her God-given authority and pray. The Lord spoke to me about that fact once when I was in Israel and used my surroundings to illustrate the importance of it.
He pointed out to me that even though the Prime Minister of Israel has overall responsibility for the leadership and protection of the nation, he is not personally riding around in an armored vehicle patrolling the borders himself. He has delegated that responsibility to soldiers of the Israeli Defense Force. Each one of them has a particular jurisdiction to guard and a specific job to do to help protect the country.
If one of them fails to exercise his authority or neglects to fulfill his responsibility, it leaves a gap where the enemy might get through. Therefore, each soldier is vital to the nation’s defense. That’s what we as believers need to understand. Each one of us is vital. All of us must exert our authority and take our places in prayer so that Satan’s plans can be thwarted and the will of God can be done.
We can’t allow ourselves to get so busy with the demands of daily life that we let our divine responsibilities slip. We can’t say, “Hey, I’m too busy to pray right now. Somebody else will have to do it.” The fact is, nobody else can do your part.
If you don’t do it, it won’t get done and somebody will suffer as a result.
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12 – 27
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!”