When the Lord told Mac and me that He wanted our mornings, we gladly gave them to Him. Every day, first thing, we would draw near to the Lord and get into His presence. Every morning we’d worship Him, seek His face, feed on His Word, and pray.
Before long, we’d increased on the inside enough to receive the building we needed. Sure enough, that’s when it manifested.
Many other believers have had similar experiences. One missionary I know tells about a time when God said to him, “This is your year of increase.” Although he didn’t realize there was a connection, he also sensed God calling him to dedicate himself to prayer during the first six months of the year. In that season of prayer, the Holy Spirit moved often on him through groaning and travail.
At the end of the six months, his church planting suddenly increased by 25 percent. Within another year, it increased 50 percent. In addition, God opened the door to a divine connection that enabled him to open a Bible school just beyond the border of mainland China where Chinese believers could be trained and then return to their homeland to preach the Gospel.
What did groaning and travail in prayer have to do with his amazing increase in ministry?
Galatians 4:19 gives us a clue. There, Paul wrote, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (KJV). God had to form more of Christ in that missionary before he could handle the increase God wanted to give him.
The same is true for all of us. Before God can open new, effectual doors for us, we must increase in our spirit man first. We must come up higher so that we can carry something greater. We must be strengthened with might in our inner man.
We must yield ourselves to the prayers of the Spirit so that inside and out, He can prepare the way of the Lord.
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:28 – 31
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!”