One thrilling benefit of praying with other believers is this: when we work together in the spirit, giftings that have been hidden within us are revealed and activated. The anointing on us connects with the anointing on someone else and enables us both to step into spiritual positions we could never occupy alone.
One of my favorite scriptural illustrations of that principle is the Old Testament story about Saul. When he was first anointed to be king of Israel by the prophet Samuel, he didn’t appear to be kingly material. He was naturally timid, and he had no experience operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Do you know how God changed him?
He changed him by bringing him into contact with anointed people. God used gifts in others to awaken the anointing on Saul and those gifts turned him into another man.
To make sure he didn’t miss those connections, Samuel told him about them in advance. He let Saul know they would be strategic in his life. He said:
When you have left me today … you will come to the oak of Tabor, and three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin bottle of wine. They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. After that … you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place … prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you will show yourself to be a prophet with them; and you will be turned into another man. When these signs meet you, do whatever you find to be done, for God is with you. (1 Samuel 10:2 – 7 Amp)
Usually we think of “signs” in terms of miracles and wonders that come from heaven. But in Saul’s case, the signs that changed his life were people. They were believers who imparted to him certain spiritual supplies he needed to step into the office of king.
That just goes to show you how important spiritual connections and relationships are. They change us. They activate spiritual endowments within us. They prepare us for our future. They inspire us to rise to new heights in God.
We can walk around for years with supernatural endowments and giftings lying dormant within us like seeds in the ground. But when God sends somebody across our path who is anointed to cultivate them, those seeds in us will begin to sprout. The more we’re with that person, the bigger those seedlings grow.
Patsy Cameneti (my dear friend and one of my favorite ministers) tells about a preacher named David Grant who had that kind of cultivating effect on her as a teenager. He carried an anointing to awaken people to the call of God. When he ministered at her church, people would tarry around the altar all night long seeking God about His will for their lives.
Without brother Grant, an all-night prayer meeting wouldn’t have been possible. Everybody would have been asleep under the pews before midnight. But when he ministered, the anointing on him activated people’s spiritual hunger and they were supernaturally energized to pray.
All of us need the power of divine connections with people like brother Grant. For, truly, as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend!
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 10:1 – 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!”