2 Corinthians 4:6 – 7
When we pray about the outpouring of God that is coming in these last days, it’s important for us to remember that His last-days’ glory is going to come from two places. In other words, it is a dual power.
First, it will come pouring out from within believers. It will come out of the body of Christ because we are the vessels of glory.
Second, it will come out of heaven as it did in Bible days.
We can see a type and shadow of this twofold outpouring by looking at what happened when God flooded the earth with water in Noah’s day. Pointing to that event as an illustration of what will take place at the end of this age, Jesus said:
For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
(Matthew 24:38 – 39)
For years when I read that passage, I focused completely on the fact that at the time of the flood, people were eating and drinking and doing normal things. I thought that scripture was simply saying that the end of the age was going to catch people by surprise.
Then a wonderful praying friend of mine pointed out to me there was more to it than that. She helped me see that the flood itself provides a picture of God’s end-time outpouring of glory because it came when “the fountains of the great deep were all broken up and burst forth, and the windows and floodgates of the heavens were opened” (Genesis 7:11 Amp). In other words, the flood came from two places. It came from the earth below and it came from heaven above.
I believe that’s what’s about to happen spiritually in our day. The fountains of God’s glory that have been abiding deep inside believers will be broken up so that the glory can burst forth from them. And when it bursts forth, it’s going to transform them into the image of Jesus.
That in itself will be unspeakably glorious. But it’s not all that will happen. The windows of heaven are also going to be opened!
When will this flood of glory come? I don’t know and I don’t need to know. Noah didn’t know the exact day that the flood was coming, but he knew it was coming so he got prepared. We must do the same thing. We must prepare the atmosphere for this glory through our prayers. We must do everything God is telling us to do because it will surely come!
Scripture Reading: Genesis 7:1 – 24
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!”