No matter how much we love the Lord, we all have times when we lose our inner spark—times when the trials and tribulations of life so tax our energy that our spiritual battery begins to run down.
Wouldn’t it be marvelous if we could simply plug into a divine power supply and get recharged at times like that? Then we could be like the energized rabbit on the battery commercials. No matter how many obstacles and difficulties came our way, we could just keep going … and going … and going for Jesus. We could live every day aglow and burning with the Spirit, lit up with zeal for Him.
“Sounds great,” you might say. “But this is the real world. Nobody can actually live like that.”
Yes, we can! God has given us the resources we need to do it. He has given us His Word and His indwelling Spirit. He has given us the privilege of praying in tongues and praying with our understanding. What’s more, He has given us another resource that many believers never even use.
He has given us the powerhouse of prophecy.
Contrary to popular belief, prophecy isn’t supposed to be reserved just for church services. It’s not meant to be used only by ministers or delivered exclusively from pulpits. God wants every born again, Holy Ghost baptized believer to prophesy in their own personal prayer closet. He wants us all to be filled with the Spirit, speaking to ourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
New Testament psalms are actually a form of prophecy. The dictionary defines them as sacred odes or spiritual poems and they are either spoken or sung by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Always based on scriptural truth, they have an uplifting, faith-building quality about them, and they’re meant to be a regular part of our times of fellowship with God.
Over the years, I’ve found out for myself just how empowering and refreshing they can be. I’ve studied what the Word said about prophecy and practiced speaking out by faith the encouraging words and phrases that rise up in my heart as I commune with the Lord. Every time I do it, I get stirred up about it all over again, and this week I want you to get stirred up about it too.
So get ready to discover (or re-discover) the powerhouse of prophecy and make it a permanent part of your personal devotional life. Get ready to be energized, recharged, and full of the fresh energy of the Spirit so that you can keep going … and going … and going for God!
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:1 – 21
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!”