Your physical health is one of your most vital spiritual assets. It’s a crucial part of your equipment in prayer. No matter how committed you are, it’s tough to pray through to victory for somebody else when your own body is hurting. It’s more difficult to be strong in spirit when you’re physically weak.
You know it. I know it. And Satan knows it.
Yet as praying people, we don’t always take the time to build our faith for healing. We sometimes get so busy praying for other people’s needs, for revival in the church, or for God’s will to be done in the nations that we forget to feed on the Word for ourselves. So when sickness slips up on us, we don’t have enough strength to resist it. We end up being robbed of precious time and spiritual effectiveness because we aren’t prepared to lay hold of our healing and repel Satan’s attack.
It ought not to be that way!
Those of us who are marching in God’s army of prayer should be well. We—of all people—need our full strength and health to fulfill all God has called us to do.
That’s why this week I want to focus on what the Bible says about healing. Because, as a pray-er, you are such a blessing to the body of Christ; it’s important for you to get healthy and stay that way. And Jesus has made the way for you to do it.
Take the time right now to think about your physical condition. Is your effectiveness in prayer being diminished by some infirmity? Is your body hindering you in even a minor way? If so, acknowledge it and determine to take a stand against that infirmity. Remind yourself that God wants you fully delivered and set free.
If healing is a familiar subject to you, I urge you to read this week’s devotions as if you’ve never heard about it before. Be alive and alert to what the Spirit of God is saying to you. Don’t be like a turtle that pulls his head in and say, “I already know this” or “I tried it and it didn’t work.”
Perk up your inner ears. Expect the Lord to meet you in a fresh way. Get ready to hear from Him the very thing you need to hear.
Prepare your heart for a very special week with Jesus, your Healer.
Scripture Reading: Exodus 15:22 – 26; 23:25; Isaiah 53:1 – 5
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!”