(Dan. 2:20 – 22)
“Sister Lynne,” you might say, “I pray scriptures. I pray the Word of God over situations. How could that ever be wrong?”
The Word in itself can never be wrong. But we can be wrong in how we interpret and apply it. We can sometimes miss what God is specifically saying to us through that Word for a particular time and circumstance. Consider, for example, the verses in Ephesians 1 where the apostle Paul prayed:
… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power … (verses 17 – 19)
That prayer is always the will of God for His New Covenant people. It’s always God’s will for us to know Him better and see our heavenly calling more clearly. But look back through the history of the Church and you will find that, at times, God has desired to emphasize certain revelations more than others.
We’ve seen it just in this century. In the early 1900s, God poured out a fresh revelation of the Pentecostal experience and untold numbers were baptized in the Holy Spirit. In the 1950s, He gave fresh revelation of Himself as the healer and a healing revival swept this nation. In the 1970s, He gave a fresh revelation of the power of living by faith, and Word of Faith churches began cropping up all over the country.
As pray-ers, we must realize that while God’s truths are always true, they carry with them an apostolic essence. In the same way an apostle (which means sent one) is sent to a particular group of people, an apostolic truth is sent (emphasized or revealed anew) by God at a particular period of time to bring forth His plan for that season on His divine calendar.
As pray-ers, if we are going to stay in step with God’s plan, we must pick up on those apostolic truths. We must continually be listening not just to what God has said, but to what He is saying now and how He is saying it.
We must always be praying by revelation. If we don’t, we can be right one minute and totally wrong the next.
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 8:1 – 21, 34
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!”