Thankful Hearts 5-5-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be Lord of my heart, Lord of my home, and Lord of my nation. You are Lord of all. ... "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:17). I joined in the prayers of my fellow countrymen for our nation three different times yesterday at morning, noon, and night. Last night I was honored to lead the part of our prayer on behalf of our state as we gathered from across our city and from across the denominational, racial, and economic lines as one in the body of Christ. We proclaimed our prayers freely and boldly at the courthouse plaza from the center gate at the heart of our city. By the grace of the freedom You have given us, we were not ashamed to pray in the power of Your name as we humbled our hearts in repentance and as we lifted our hearts in praise. As one body and one voice in Your Spirit and in Your Name, we honored You on behalf of our city and our nation. My little boy Elijah wanted to go with me downtown last night. He's not quite four years old and we were concerned he might not make it through a long, public prayer meeting. But when it was my turn to come up and pray, he was there by my side nodding his affirmation of amens and waiving his little hands with authority. On the ride home, he said, "Thank you for taking me to that prayer meeting, Dad." A father loves to hear the thankful heart of his children. Father, I know yesterday you loved to hear the thankful hearts of Your children. As a nation, we give You thanks for Your faithfulness to us even in the face of our faithlessness to You. Your mercy and love abound in measures we can't even imagine to the people of the nations who draw near to You with thankful and humble hearts. And I pray the joy that filled my heart on the ride home is just a taste of the joy that fills Your heart when Your children give thanks to You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays 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