Proverbs 15:19
The Bible doesn’t tell us to prepare in the wilderness a path for our God. It doesn’t tell us to pray for a little opening so that Jesus can sneak through the back door into such closed nations as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China.
No, the Bible tells us to build a highway for Him!
It doesn’t take much work to make a path does it? Just walk back and forth over a piece of ground a few times and you’ll have one. But if you want to build a highway, you’ll need some major equipment. You’ll need lots of horsepower. You’ll need entire crews of people working together to get the job done.
That’s the kind of prayer God is looking for from us in these last days. He is looking for prayer with some faith power behind it. He is looking for persevering prayer. He is looking for prayer crews that will work together to move hindrances out of the way and prepare a highway that Jesus can use to march in the front door of every nation of the world!
God is looking for mature believers who will get more interested in the advancement of God’s kingdom than they are in their own petty, personal lives and open the way for men to be saved by praying for kings and all those in places of authority.
If we’ll do that, God will use our prayers to disperse His anointing to those authorities. He’ll move on them and empower them to aid and assist in the preaching of the Gospel. He’ll work through leaders of every kind—government, military, and spiritual—to get His will done on earth as it is in heaven.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 72:1 – 20
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!”