I know from firsthand experience how sweat-less our spiritual victories can be when people pray together and honor each other’s spiritual gifts. I found that out years ago when I first began to develop prayer groups in our church.
As I prayed on a regular basis with other believers (some who were very different from me), I discovered that prayer groups move to a higher level of power when the members recognize each other’s giftings and understand how those giftings operate. Among our first prayer leaders was one young man, for instance, who had the spiritual ability to discern when a battle could be won in prayer and push through to victory. It wasn’t just that he could hold out longer. He had a unique anointing to get the breakthrough.
One particular group he prayed with met in a building that our church rented downtown. The building was in the middle of one of the worst sections of the city right next to a homosexual bar. One night while the group was praying there, the anointing came on him to get rid of that bar. He commanded it to close and the very next day it was shut down and boarded up. It never re-opened. Today a nice, upscale restaurant is located there.
The more we begin to recognize such anointings in each other and treasure them (they won’t function if they aren’t honored) the more sweat-less victories we will see. The more we’ll get to do what Jehoshaphat and Judah did. Without lifting a finger to fight, they watched as their enemies destroyed one another.
Think of it! They won the battle without a fight—and they won it so thoroughly that not one of their enemies escaped. The only hard work they had to do was gathering up the spoil. There was so much of it that it took three whole days to pack it up.
No wonder the Bible says the manifestations of the Spirit are given to each one for the profit of all! When we put them together, our individual spiritual giftings bring great spoils into the kingdom of God. They truly make us rich!
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 20:24 – 32
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!”