Do you know what my heart is calling for these days?
My heart is calling for more manifestations of the Holy Spirit … more of the gifts of tongues and interpretations, prophecy, discerning of spirits, words of wisdom and knowledge, healings and miracles … more divine visions and dreams … more angelic visitations and extraordinary encounters with God … not just for myself but for the whole body of Christ.
The reason I yearn for those things is simple. For the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ to fulfill her divine call, for her to be transformed from glory to glory into the image of the Lord and become a dwelling place of God on the earth, we must have those manifestations. They aren’t optional. They aren’t just the icing on the cake of redemption—something extra we can get along without if we have to. They are mandatory.
We simply cannot finish our race without them.
Alarmingly enough, however, most believers these days know very little about them. Many grown-up Christians are just as puzzled about the operations of the Holy Spirit as my granddaughter, Caroline, was when she was a little girl. One day after skinning her knee, she came crying to her father. He prayed for her and said, “Now, let’s believe we receive healing for your knee and thank God for it.”
“But, Daddy,” she said, “it still hurts!”
“That’s because the manifestation hasn’t come yet,” he answered, “But it will if we just keep believing.”
A few minutes later, Caroline came back in the house still nursing her sore knee. “Daddy, when is that man from the station coming?” she asked. “I’m ready for my knee to be well!”
Sometimes we, as believers, are almost that clueless about the supernatural operations of the Holy Spirit. We’re not really sure what they are. And like little Caroline, we naively assume that if we need them, some man from the station will eventually bring them around.
In reality, however, God is waiting for us to actively and purposely believe for them. He is waiting for us to stir up our hunger for them by opening our Bibles and reading about them. He wants us to grow up in our understanding and earnestly covet His marvelous, spiritual gifts.
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1 – 11, 31
Excerpt permission granted by Lynne Hammond Ministries
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!”