Sometimes I think we make prayer much more complicated than Jesus ever meant it to be. We don’t do it purposely. On the contrary, our intentions are good.
In our desire to pray more powerfully and effectively, we come up with innumerable principles and formulas to follow. We gather up all kinds of keys and steps to success. We surround prayer—which should be as simple and natural as breathing—with so many rules and regulations that we eventually become intimidated by it. We end up feeling like we need a checklist a mile long in our prayer closet just to make sure we’re doing everything right.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m strongly in favor of good, scriptural teaching on prayer. I believe the principles we learn from the Word are vital, and biblical steps and keys are helpful at times. But if we try on our own to figure out how to put them all together and make them work, we end up confused and frustrated
We hear one preacher say, “Just cast your care on the Lord. Rest in Him and He’ll take care of you.” Then we hear another preacher say, “Don’t just sit there! Rise up and take the authority God has given you. Fight the good fight of faith!”
Left to ourselves, we don’t know what to do.
Should I rest … or fight? we wonder. Should I cast the care … or take authority?
There’s only one person who can answer those questions for us—the person of the Holy Spirit. He is the only teacher who can show us exactly how to pray in every situation. He is the simple secret of powerful prayer.
Scripture Reading: John 14:1 – 17
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!”