The Prayers of a Nation 5-4-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Heavenly Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit of the Living God. I worship You, Lord my God, my Creator, and my King. ... "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created" (Revelation 4:11). Today is the National Day of Prayer in America. We will gather at churches and courthouses, capitol steps and convention centers, water coolers and river front stadiums across our nation today to honor You publicly with our prayers and praise. Thank You for the gift of freedom to express our faith and hope in You. Forgive us for our silence on all the other days of the year when we have the same freedom. But even so, we ask that You would pour out Your Holy Spirit upon the hearts of Your people in a special anointing of prayer and praise, repentance and rejoicing, humility and honor, as we lift our eyes from ourselves for a moment and turn our hearts to You. Not all will call You by name; not all know You yet by name. But there is one God who created heaven and earth, one God who rules and overrules all, one God who holds every nation in His hands, and when we honor the God of all creation, we honor You alone. "To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever" (1 Timothy 1:17). "God is King over the nations; God sits on His holy throne" (Psalm 47:8). A nation is the sum of its people, and today many of the people of this nation will take a moment and pray a prayer in humility and faith to honor You. Lord, hear our prayer. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12, NKJV). Bless the people of this nation and every nation who seek You and worship You as the One worthy to receive all glory and honor and power. And as You bless Your people in these nations, I pray You will bless the nations of Your people through the earth You have created. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, Thursday May 4th is the National Day of Prayer for our nation. If you are in our area, please join me at noon at the prayer tower at my home church, Centenary United Methodist at 2800 Tates Creek Road in Lexington, where I will lead our prayer time. All are welcome. Then at 7:30 pm please join us in a city-wide gathering in front of the Fayette County courthouse. If you can come to the Capitol in Frankfort, my friend Carol Koebel will be leading our state-wide observance at the Capitol steps at noon. Please join those who are praying in your community and I ask our friends of other nations to pray that America would honor God in humility, repentance, faith, and praise in prayer this day. I will include below the devotional I sent out recently on the theme for the National Day of Prayer, "America, Honor God." God bless you! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's (and now cd's) for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com"Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com [from Morning by Morning, Friday 4-21-06 -- "Honor Me"] Good morning, Lord Jesus. I love You, Lord, and I call on Your name. Cause Your nature to be formed in my nature; cause Your heart to be formed in my heart. I entrust my life and this day to You. ... "For those who honor Me I will honor" (1 Samuel 2:30). These words are the call to prayer for our National Day of Prayer this year on Thursday, May 4, 2006. And these words are Your call to prayer for each of us who are called by Your name on every day. The word "honor" in the Hebrew language carries the idea of weightiness, heaviness, and significance. It is from the same root as the word "glory" -- the thickness and heaviness of the substance of the presence of God. It is not shallow or superficial; it is a sense of substance and depth of commitment. As we glorify You, we honor You. As we honor You, we welcome the glory of Your presence. Forgive us for the shallowness of our faith as a people and a nation. Forgive us for honoring You merely with our words or slogans -- "God bless America;" "In God we trust;" "One nation under God." Let these be declarations of surrender to Your will and Your ways rather than sanctimonious and self-serving symbols. Forgive us for allowing ourselves to become "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, holding to an outward form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Timothy 3:5). We confess our sin and the sin of our nation throughout our generations in the humility of repentance, asking for the mercy of Your grace to renew us and revive us, to reawaken us to our calling and destiny as a nation under God. You created us, as You have created each of us, for the greatness of Your glory. And Your glory fills the hearts and the nation of the people who honor You -- who honor You not merely with our lips but with our hearts, not only in the privacy of our prayer closets, but in the way we live our lives before the world to see. Restore us as a nation and a people to the depth of commitment and surrender You long to have from the hearts of Your people of every nation. Let us not be ashamed to honor You publicly and proudly. "Those who are ashamed of Me and of My words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:26). As for me and my house, as for me and my nation, let us declare this day and every day, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith" (Romans 1:16). Blessed is the one who honors God. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.