One time a pastor’s wife from California shared with me how she almost fell into the trap of getting too busy with the affairs of life to guard her post in prayer. Some Christians from her area were having a prayer meeting in Sacramento to pray for the capital of California and bring the influence of God to bear on that state and on the nation. She said, “Lord, I can’t go up there to that prayer meeting because I have to homeschool my children that day.”
The Lord answered her and said, “If you don’t go up there and get in your prayer place, the day will come when you will be unable to homeschool your children!”
At some level, that’s true for all of us. If we let ourselves get so busy enjoying our privileges and blessings that we don’t have time to pray, Satan will eventually rob us of them. If we let Satan have his way, we won’t just lose our educational options; we’ll lose our Christian freedoms of all kinds. If we were to let him have his way, terrorism would spread like wildfire, unrestrained all over the world. Nations would slam shut to the Gospel. Righteous leadership would disappear from the face of the earth.
But, bless the Lord, Satan won’t have his way because those of us in the Church aren’t going to let him. We’re going to exert our authority and stand fast in prayer as faithful soldiers of the Lord. We’re going to keep God’s light shining and restrain the powers of darkness.
We’re going to keep Satan on the run and bring God’s influence to bear upon governments until they yield to His will and throw open their doors to Him. And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the nations of the earth. And then (and only then!) the end shall come.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 24:1 – 14
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!”