Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Humble; Hungry; Hidden 1-30-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Awaken my soul to arise into the communion of prayer in these first moments of the morning with You. ... "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you" (James 4:10). Sunday, You opened the door for me to speak to the young adults of our church seeking a deeper personal prayer life. Out of the vast topic of prayer, I wanted to give them a few key thoughts that would be centering thoughts and easy to remember. You gave me three words: humility, hunger, hidden. Humility. "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you" (James 4:10). As we humble ourselves before You, we turn our focus from ourselves to You. We give You first place with the first fruits of our thoughts and desires. You long to lift us up high into the heavenly realm of our spiritual dimension as welcome children of God, but we must first bow low in the attitudes of our hearts, acknowledging You for who You are as our God and King. You resist the proud, but give grace to the humble (v. 4:6). You increase, as we decrease (John 4:30). Hunger. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). You are our righteousness. Your Holy Spirit moves in our human spirits, causing us to hunger and thirst for more of You. You want us to ask for this hunger -- a yearning in our bones for the sense of Your presence. You want us to know You are there whether we feel You or sense You or not, but You also want us to experience You. And You will use those times when we don't sense Your presence to draw us deeper, to take us higher, to fight for time to spend waiting on You with a desperation and determination to settle for nothing less than the fullness of Your Spirit abiding in us as seek to abide in You (John 15:4. Hidden. "But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees you in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:6). You desire our focused attention, to honor You with the priority of our time. You call us to come away with You, away from the crowds, up to the mountain of prayer. You want us to shut the door to all distractions, as we seek Your face and embrace Your grace in the silence of surrender, waiting on You to fill us with the peace of Your presence. Here in the hidden place, You begin to form Your thoughts in our minds and Your desires in our hearts. Here in the secret place of the Most High, You lift us up and hold us in Your arms, safe and secure, strengthened and encouraged, as You order the steps of our day (Psalm 91; Proverbs 3:5-6). Yes, Lord. Help me learn to be humble and hungry and hidden. Draw me deeper into relationship with You through the journey of prayer. Awaken my soul each day to arise into Your presence in the communion of prayer, abiding in You as You abide in me. Keep me there in that place of peace, as You lead me out into my day with Your hand in my hand and Your Spirit in my heart. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com . Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794