This is the wonder of the New Covenant!
Having been cleansed and brought near to God by the blood of Jesus Christ, we can come boldly to God’s throne and receive mercy and grace whenever we need it. We’re a part of God’s family and His door is always open to us. He has invited us to come and draw near to Him.
But all too often, instead of drawing near with our hearts, we fall back on our familiar old routines. We pray the same way every day. Rather than seeking fresh fellowship with our Father, we say, “This is just the way I do things. I’m comfortable with this form of prayer.” And sometimes we are so stubborn about it that even God Himself cannot change us.
Beloved pray-er, we cannot live that way and reach our destiny in God. We cannot just do the same old thing routinely, day after day, in prayer—repeating truths by rote and parroting scriptural phrases. If we want to become all God has called us to be, we must pray (and live) more and more from our hearts. We must constantly tune into and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
In John 16, Jesus said to His disciples, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (v. 12). Jesus knew that to finish their course in God, those first disciples would have to hear from the Holy Spirit in their hearts. They would have to be led and directed by Him.
The same is true of us. We can’t afford to rely on yesterday’s forms and formulas. We can’t allow ourselves to slip into heartless habits that look good but lack the presence of God. For us to finish the race God has called us to run, we must stay in step with the Holy Spirit. We must run with our hearts tuned into Him.
Scripture Reading: John 16:1-15
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!”