“The Time of Singing has Come!” 10-11-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are great and mighty, merciful and kind. I honor You and welcome You into my thoughts and desires and every moment of my day. … “My Beloved speaks and says to me: ‘Arise my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land’ ” (Song of Solomon 2:10-12). You are the God who gives us voice to sing Your praise and declare Your goodness. After the Sunday morning message yesterday in Angelsey, Wales, a woman came up for prayer for persistent pain in her throat and damage from many years of smoking cigarettes. She could speak alright, but she hadn’t been able to sing in years, which had been a great passion of her heart. After we prayed, Your Spirit stirred in my heart to ask her to sing. And she did! With each verse, her voice grew stronger! By the time she came to the verse of Your healing power, the whole church was filled with her voice and Your praises! As she cried with tears of thanksgiving for Your mercy and love, she said this was such a wonderful day—not only because of her miraculous healing, but also because her husband had come with her to church for the first time in a long time. She said he wasn’t saved, but she knew he’d heard God’s Word today and it would be a deep seed planted in his heart that would surely grow. I looked and saw him standing at the back of the church and waved him up to us. I asked him if he heard how God healed his wife’s voice. He said yes. Then she said something about him singing with her in the past and how wonderful it would be for them to sing together again. I asked him if he sang, and he didn’t answer. In the convergence of our Welsh and American accents, she thought I was asking him if he was saved and repeated my question to him in her version. So I asked, “Can you sing?” He said, “Yes.” I asked, “Are you saved?” He paused and said, “I think so.” I said, “Well, you can know so. Would you like me to lead you in a prayer to ask Jesus into your heart?” He said, “Yes, I would” and prayed with me. Once again the church was filled with our voices and Your praises! No doubt the angels joined in with their voices and praises as well: “Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). They speak of the great revival in Wales in the early 1900’s as “The Singing Revival.” And just before my message, I asked an older man whose mother was saved in that revival and imparted to her son that revival spirit that’s never wavered for all these years to come pray for us to have that spirit. O Lord, You are answering our prayers! You are releasing the spirit of revival in our hearts and in this land and throughout the earth. Heavenly Father, Your Holy Spirit is preparing a holy Bride for the coming of Your Son. Let us be a passionate people, singing You our songs of thanksgiving for Your mercy and love, filling the earth with our voices of Your praises. “The time of singing has come!” (Song of Solomon 2:12) In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep us in prayer during our time in Wales and England this month for our Encounter Wales! ministry trip. We are encountering and experiencing God among the people in many diverse ways. We're so grateful to Heather Butler and her husband Bob of Hidden Treasures Ministries and Honey From the Rock Healing Rooms of Wales for making the arrangements and provision for us to come and minister and to come and receive of the impartation for revival in the heart of this land to share in ministry to the nations and at home. Our team will travel all over to towns and villages in Wales and to Oxford, Birmingham, and Plymouth England to preach, pray, and love the people of this land, as we share the Good News of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. And we're so grateful to you, standing with us in prayer, encouragement, and provision that makes it possible to fulfill the calling and vision of Messiah Ministries at home and abroad, "Preparing the way of the Lord ... Ministering the healing love of God." God bless you, my friend! Wales has deep spiritual roots. The great Welsh Revival in about 1904-1906 swept the nation and in time, impacted the world. It began as a simple time of fervent prayer and testimonies of repentance, led by a young man named Evan Roberts. I'll get to speak and share at Mariah Chapel, his home church where the Revival began humbly; and I'm excited about going to drink deeply from that ancient well of world-changing revival. Many also believe the Welsh Revival was a precursor to the famous Azusa Street Revival in California that ushered in the 20th century Pentecostal movement. Let's pray for revival and awakening in the hearts of the people and in ours. If you'd like to be part of our interactive, intercessory prayer team, please send a note to Linda back at home, our pastor of prayer ministries, coordinating our prayer team with updates, testimonies, and shared insights from prayer at PrayerLead@aol.com God bless you! Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!