Matthew 5:6
“Brethren … pray to get hungry.”
John G. Lake spoke this phrase many years ago. Though he has long since gone on to be with the Lord, the words he said are very much alive in me today. And, no, Brother Lake wasn’t talking about natural physical hunger when he said that. He was referring to spiritual hunger: the hunger of a soul craving God. John Lake knew a great deal about that kind of hunger. He had it to such a degree that it catapulted him into a ministry marked by so many miraculous manifestations of God’s power and presence that it has been compared to the apostle Paul’s.
No wonder he considered the God-hungry soul to be “the most blessed soul in the world.”
Why is spiritual hunger such a blessing?
Because those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled. Deuteronomy 4:29 says it this way: “if … you will seek (inquire for and require as necessity) the Lord your God, you will find Him if you [truly] seek Him with all your heart [and mind] and soul and life” (Amp).
The person who is truly hungry for God searches for Him with his whole heart and life, and when he does, the Bible says, he finds Him. What greater blessing could there possibly be?
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 8:3
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!”