Morning by Morning, February 18, 2026 — “Ash Wednesday”—Beginning a Season of Repentance and Preparation, Surrender with Expectation
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and in every moment of my day. ...
This day marks the day many Christians around the world call “Ash Wednesday.” On the spiritual calendar, these are days of preparation, beginning a season of forty days between Ash Wednesday and Resurrection Sunday, not counting the Sabbath days, in a traditional spiritual journey of the Body of Christ since the beginning days of Your Church. The heart and theme of these days is repentance and preparation, surrender with expectation.
As I wait on You this morning, this Word comes to mind:
“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight’” (Matthew 3:1-3).
As the Holy Spirit led You into the wilderness for forty days between Your baptism in the Holy Spirit and the beginning of Your ministry in the power of the Spirit, so Your Spirit leads us into seasons of purging, purification, and preparation (Matthew 3:13 through 4:17; Luke 4:1-21).
These are days to be emptied of ourselves and filled with You. These are days of preparing the way of the Lord in “spirit and soul and body,” that we may “be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” as Your Spirit sanctifies and fills our hearts to the degree that we sanctify and set apart our lives to Your will (1 Thessalonians 5:23). “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” ready to take hold of our hearts to the degree that we offer our hearts to You, “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
In these days of fasting and prayer and preparation, let it be more than ritual or tradition. Let it be a deeper surrender of our hearts to Your heart—rending our hearts and not our garments—making room for more of You and less of us, more of Your will and less of our will (Joel 2:13). Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done in a deeper way, to a deeper degree, than ever before in our own hearts and in the heart of the Body of Christ.
During this season of repentance and preparation, of deeper surrender and greater expectation, may Your Holy Spirit prepare the way of the Lord in us. Your kingdom is at hand because Your kingdom is in our hearts. Your kingdom comes and Your will is done in every heart prepared for You and surrendered to You (Luke 17:21). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may you be filled with deeper surrender and greater expectation during this season of repentance and preparation, in Jesus' name. God bless you, my friend! And you have a great day!
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Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
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Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
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