Morning by Morning, December 20 - "My Soul Magnifies the Lord!"
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I open my heart to welcome You in and abide in Your Presence in these first moments of my morning, wholly surrendered to You. ...
"And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked with favor on the lowliness of His servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name!" (Luke 1:46-49)
Mary said her soul magnified You and her spirit rejoiced in You. What does that mean, Lord? ...
It seems I hear You saying, "To magnify Me is to focus in on Me. It is to seek Me with all your heart and mind and soul and strength. It is to let everything else, everything less, fade away as You see Me alone. When she did, her spirit rejoiced and her heart sang. In that moment, she didn't care what anyone thought. All her thoughts and all her desires were fixed upon Me alone."
Yes, Lord. To confirm Your word to my heart, You're bringing many Scriptures to my mind: "One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple" (Psalm 27:4). "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere" (Psalm 84:10). "I keep the Lord always before me.... Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.... You show me the path of life. In Your Presence there is fullness of joy!" (Psalm 16:8-11)
Like Mary, I want to take time to "magnify" You. At least for a moment here at the start of my day, let my heart and mind be fixed on You alone. As the old hymn says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." I know as I do my spirit will rejoice in God my Savior, my heart will be glad, and my body will rest secure in You. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You... Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early" (Isaiah 26:3-9). And by the leading of Your Spirit, may I seek You early and then continue to seek You throughout the moments of my day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
May your soul magnify the Lord, that your spirit may rejoice in God our Savior and your heart be glad in Him all day long, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Friends, I'm excited that we just published my new book Morning by Morning, Second Edition that is now available through Amazon and Kindle. It's a 365 Day Devotional with a selection of many of my favorite devotionals from the last several years of my prayer journey. Thank you for joining with me on this journey! And I pray these simple morning prayers are a great blessing and encouragement to you to start your day embraced by the love of our Father, centered in Jesus Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. God bless you and Merry Christmas!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Please share this word to encourage a friend!
