Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I give all that I am to all that You are. …
“In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke, when he said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight’ ” (Matthew 3:1-3).
These are days of preparation. Today begins 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. 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, apart from Your will for our lives (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. Prepare the way of the Lord in us. Prepare the way of the Lord in me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, I pray this will be a holy time throughout these next forty days until the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. Let's pray for one another and for the Body of Christ to grow and grace and depth of spiritual maturity, choosing to be more deeply surrendered and committed to the way of the Lord in our lives than ever before. Thank you for joining with me in the journey of prayer. God bless you!
Friends, please keep us in prayer the next 4 days for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Level 1, that I'll be leading on behalf of Messiah Ministries at our home base city of Lexington, Kentucky ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). With our other students, we're very excited to have with us a team of leaders from The Refuge for Women, a local ministry we've partnered with for healing prayer ministry to women being rescued from the adult entertainment industry ( www.refugeforwomen.org ). Please keep their ministry in your prayers as well.
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