When I think about how we, as believers, are called to pour out the lifegiving rivers of God on this spiritually parched world, I am reminded of how vital the Jordan River is to the nation of Israel. When it is running strong in the springtime, the Jordan is a crashing, thrashing supply line of the clearest, purest water you’ve ever seen. It flows with such force that it will sweep away every obstacle, overrun its banks, and turn even the driest pathways into riverbeds rushing with water.
But that precious water doesn’t originate in the Jordan. It flows down from the highlands to the north. It is fed by melting snow and rains that fall from heaven upon Mount Hermon’s towering peaks. That’s why the Jews pray all the time for rain on those mountains. The rains supply the waters that make the whole country flourish.
As believers, you and I are just like the Jordan River. We’re called to bring the waters of life to a spiritually dry world. We’re commissioned to flood the whole earth with the message of redemption so that all the people Jesus died to save have the opportunity to hear it.
But we’re just the conduits through which those waters flow. They don’t originate with us. They come from the heights of heaven—from God Himself. They are the earth-bound streams that have their source in the “river whose waters give life, sparkling like crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
When Jesus ministered on earth, He stayed perfectly connected to that throne-room river. That’s why His life was continually flooded with the power and presence of God. He was a perfect channel for the divine waters of the Spirit. No wonder He could so boldly say, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink!” (John 7:37 Amp). Jesus’ inner rivers never ran dry!
What’s more, He made it clear that ours don’t have to run dry either. He said, “He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.” (verse 38 Amp).
A thirsty world is waiting for us to go to the mountain of God and tap into those rivers. A parched and perishing planet is hoping that, as it did in Jesus’ day, the Jordan of the Spirit will overrun its banks once again. We are now its only channels.
Let’s drink deeply of the waters of heaven and let the river flow.
Scripture Reading: Revelation 22:1–7
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!”