Matthew 11:12
In recent years, the Church has seen some precious manifestations of God’s power. We’ve seen some small moves and stirs of the Holy Spirit and we’re grateful for those. We needed them.
But we can’t afford to be satisfied with what we’ve had thus far because Jesus promised greater manifestations. He said we’d do not only what He did in His earthly ministry but even greater things—and He had some very spectacular moves of the Spirit in His ministry.
In some of His meetings, thousands of people were healed in a short period of time. In others, every single sick person present was healed. Creative miracles took place. Blind eyes were opened. The maimed were made whole. The deaf heard. Demons fled from people. Given how massive the crowds were, we are safe in assuming that at times many of these miracles occurred at once.
The same kind of power and unusual manifestations of the Spirit were evident in the early Church. Acts 5:12 tells us that by the hands of the apostles “numerous and startling signs and wonders were being performed among the people” (Amp). So great was the healing power of God that was flowing through the body of Christ back then that people carried the sick into the streets in hope that Peter’s shadow might fall on them as he passed by. “Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed” (verse 16).
My, how glorious the Church was in those days! How full of the power and manifestations of the Holy Spirit!
We often read about them and wish for them to come again. But we must do more than wish. We must believe for it because Jesus said that if we would believe, we would see the glory of God (John 11:40). Our believing must not be passive, either. It must be active. It must be spiritually aggressive.
To see the glory of God in manifestation again like it was in the early Church, we must be like the people Jesus spoke about in Matthew 11:12. We must be eager, spiritually violent people who take ground for the kingdom of God by force! We must fight not against people but against Satan and against the fleshly distractions that try to draw us off course.
We must press past everything that would try to hinder us and take possession of what God promised us—the very presence and power of Jesus Himself!
Scripture Reading: Matthew 15:29 – 31, Luke 6:17 – 19
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!”