Most of us don’t pay as much attention as we should to the subtle, divine promptings of the Holy Spirit because we’re expecting something more spectacular. We are waiting for God to hit us with a lightning bolt. We’re waiting for the clouds to part and the heavens to open. We’re waiting for God to speak to us and give us some great and mighty plan before we respond.
But that’s not usually how the Holy Spirit works. For the most part, spectacular is not His style.
He prefers instead to gently draw our hearts in the direction He wants us to go. He likes to give us an inward nudge, and if we respond to it, He’ll lead us on.
Recently, I heard a story about an American man—a born again, Spirit-filled, Harvard graduate—who began to sense that kind of subtle prompting. For no reason he could explain other than the inward influence of the Holy Spirit, he found his heart drawn toward Tibet. He had no idea what to do about it, but as he was talking to a friend about it one day, his friend said, “Why don’t you just go there?”
“Okay,” said the man. “I believe I will.” (Sometimes that’s the only response God needs from us to get things rolling. He just needs us to say “okay.”)
As the man began to make plans for his trip, his friend who happened to be a doctor offered to give him some medical supplies for the people there. As it turned out, the supplies he brought were desperately needed and the governor of Tibet was extremely grateful for them.
He was so grateful, in fact, that he offered the man the largest auditorium available, filled it up with people, and allowed him to preach the Gospel for three nights. As a result, many souls were saved.
I’d call that a big move of God. Yet, it took place because someone paid attention to a seemingly small leading of the Holy Spirit. It happened because one man dared to respond to God.
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 19:9 – 13
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!”