The third kind of door the Holy Spirit can open is what I call a geographical door. He can prepare the way for the Gospel to be preached in specific regions of the world. If you’ve studied much about contemporary world evangelism, you know how important that can be.
Right now, entire nations and groups of nations are locked down so tightly that the Gospel cannot get in. The nation of Tibet is one such nation. It has been closed to the Gospel for so long that many people believe when the door to Tibet opens, Jesus will return.
Another region often referred to as the 10/40 Window has been so bound up by Satan that nobody has been able to preach openly about Jesus there for many years. Recently, however, believers have united in prayer for such nations and now doors are beginning to open.
One of those doors is in the nation of Niger—a country that boasts 44 million Muslims and only 10,000 Christians. I don’t even know how those 10,000 got saved because no one at all has been allowed in or out of the country for so long. Until last year, the place seemed spiritually impenetrable. But now a new government has come into power that is welcoming people of other faiths. Through that government, the Holy Spirit is unlocking the nation!
I’ve seen that kind of thing happen again and again over the years. One minister (a former Muslim who is now a born again evangelist) that the people in our church pray for frequently stepped through a geographic door a few years ago when he got the opportunity to preach in Malawi a few years ago. Although that country has been closed for many years, the Holy Spirit went before him and opened the way for people to hear the Gospel in staggering numbers. Hundreds of thousands of people were saved in a matter of days. Tens of thousands were baptized in the Holy Spirit in one service.
A way was made for multitudes to hear the message of salvation—all because somebody prayed.
Source: Devotions for the Praying Heart by Lynne Hammond.
Excerpt permission granted by Lynne Hammond Ministries
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!”