(Ps. 27:8 Amp)
I am deeply impressed these days that we must reverence God now more than we ever have. We must start seeking Him not just so that we can be successful in life or even so that we can be successful in prayer. We must seek Him for His own sake, because we love Him.
So many people just want words and action in prayer. They want information and methods that will help them pray more effectively. But they aren’t hungry for God Himself. They don’t yearn for fellowship with Him.
Oh, precious pray-er, let’s repent for the times we’ve been that way. Let’s set our hearts to be like David was and pray as he did in Psalm 27:4:
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple. (Amp)
God wants us to value our fellowship with Him more than we value even the work we do for Him. That’s why He will sometimes interrupt us right in the middle of a great prayer project. We’ll be consumed with doing the work of the Lord in prayer when suddenly He will put the brakes on and say, “Stop. Hush. Be quiet and worship Me. Give Me honor and glory. Just draw near to Me.”
In the King James Version of the Bible, Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things will be added to you.” Another translation puts it this way, “Seek ye first God and God alone and all these things will be added to you.”
That is so very true. All things—even spiritual things—will be added to us if we seek God Himself first. If we’ll seek Him and Him alone, He will let us flywith Him to the heights of heaven in prayer. He will take us further into the realms of the spirit than we ever dreamed possible if we delight in Him.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 37:4
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!”