Morning by Morning&#8212;Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

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!

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Morning by Morning, May 30 - Awakening Desire to Pursue Holiness of Heart and Life

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King of my heart and Lord of my life, this day and every day. ...

"Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. And He said to me, 'Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever" (Ezekiel 43:6-9 NKJV).

Your heart is to dwell in our midst forever. In Christ, our heart of Your dwelling place and our body is Your temple (2 Corinthians 3:16). Your Father heart of God longs to have fellowship and intimacy with us. From the beginning You've created us to walk with You in the cool of the day and the garden of Your Presence, but so often our sin and shame, our rebellion and regrets, our compromises and complacency, separate us from hearing Your voice and knowing Your heart and embracing Your love (Genesis 3:8). So often we build our own thresholds and set up our own doorposts by insisting on our own will and our own ways according to what seems right in our own eyes to cover up and displace what is holy and right and pure. That breaks Your heart and sets a wall between us, defiling Your name and our spirits and the intimacy and purity of our relationship with You.

So come, Holy Spirit, in Your purifying, Holy Fire. Burn out of me all that would separate me from You. Refiner's Fire, restore within me a passion to pursue holiness of heart and life and awaken within me an unrelenting desire for Your Presence with no wall between us. Give me a spirit of repentance to keep turning to You and yielding to You with all my heart and mind and soul and strength. "For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.... For I the Lord do not change.... Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts" (Malachi 3:2-7).

I thank You that in Christ, I am forgiven and free, cleansed from all unrighteousness through the Blood of the Lamb (1 John 1:9). I thank You that "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). And I thank, Lord Jesus, that You who knew no sin were willing to be made sin as my sacrifice for every sin and separation from the Presence of God so that I "might become the righteousness of God" through You and Your grace for me (2 Corinthians 5:12).

But at the same time, I want to truly desire true holiness of heart and life, "the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). I want to truly desire to "pursue righteousness" (1 Timothy 6:11). "Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor" (Proverbs 21:21). "The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but He loves the one who pursues righteousness" (Proverbs 15:9).

So keeping putting Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, giving me the desire and the power to live my life pursuing Your heart and Your nature (Philippians 2:13). For that is the very purpose of every experience and encounter of my life in this little sliver of time and opportunity I have on this side of heaven, as You make me more like You each day (Romans 8:29). By the power of Your grace, may I "live for the rest of (my) earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God" (1 Peter 4:1-2). "For this is the will of God, (my) sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray you are given an awakening desire to pursue holiness of heart and life, passionately pursuing the Presence of the Lord and His righteousness in your heart, all by the power of the grace of God at work within you to make you more like Jesus each day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays' 365 Day Prayer Devotional

Morning by Morning, 2nd Edition

"A Deeply Intimate Journey with Jesus"

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!

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Morning by Morning, May 29 - The Ark of God's Presence

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be in the midst of my heart and my thoughts and every moment of my day-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

"I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord.' It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another be made. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the Presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall not longer stubbornly follow their own evil will" (Jeremiah 3:15-17).

The ark of the covenant of the Lord was made of wood, covered with gold, and carried the law of the Lord and evidence of the power of the Lord in its chest (Exodus 25:10-22; Hebrews 9:4). But today the ark of the covenant of the Lord seems to be lost or hidden from view, though many have searched for it. Even the ark of the covenant of the Lord--carrying the ten commandments of Moses, the budded staff of Aaron, and the manna of the wilderness journey, sealed with the mercy seat and covered by the holy cherubim-was but "a shadow of things to come" pointing toward "the substance of Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 8:5).

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Presence of God. You are Immanuel, God with us, always with us, always within us, abiding in us as we abide in You, that we may carry the Word and the Spirit of God in our hearts and along our journey (Matthew 1:23). Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, You are One and Your are holy and You are within us (John 14:18). We don't seek after or worship a box covered in gold; we seek after the One we were created to worship in spirit and truth-for "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).

Thank You, Lord, that our bodies are Your temple and our hearts are Your ark of the covenant of the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16). You surround us with Your holy angels and lift us up into Your holy Presence, where we are safe and secure, forgiven and free, in the fullness of Your salvation (Psalm 91:1-16). Thank You that in Your Presence there is fullness of joy!" (Psalm 16:11) Thank You for Your shepherds after Your own heart who lead us into Your truth to feed us with knowledge and understanding of Your Word and Your Spirit (Ephesians 4:11). "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" which is "the surpassing grace of God that He has given (us)" in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 9-14-15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray you know how precious you are to God, that your body is His temple and your heart is the ark of His Presence, as He abides in you and you abide in Him, worshipping the Lord our God in spirit and truth, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays' 365 Day Prayer Devotional

Morning by Morning, 2nd Edition

"A Deeply Intimate Journey with Jesus"

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!

Friday, May 25, 2018

Morning by Morning, May 25 - "In Due Time" -- Travailing, Prevailing Prayer

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come walk with me and talk with me, here in the cool of the morning and the beginning of my day, I pray. ...

"In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, 'I have asked him of the Lord'" (1 Samuel 1:20).

Hannah passionately cried out to You in prayer for You to conceive a child in her barren womb. She was "deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly" (v. 10). In her anguish and longing for a child, she was "pouring out (her) soul before the Lord" (v. 15). But in her travail, she dedicated her unborn child to You even before she conceived (v. 11). And one day You spoke Your word through Your servant Eli that she would have the petition of her heart and that she could now go in the peace of trusting You for the answer to her prayers (v. 17). Then "her countenance was sad no longer ... and (She) rose early and worshipped before the Lord" (v. 18-19). And "in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son" (v. 20).

We don't know how long was "due time" but we know it was all in Your time. You're the God who makes all things beautiful in Your time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). And when we allow You to stir in our hearts to travail in prayer, You conceive and birth Your will according to Your plans. You turn our sorrow and sadness into joy and worship. And we look and see and celebrate what You have-all "in due time."

All along, You longed for Hannah to bear a child even more than she did. All along, You knew his name would be Samuel, that he would a prophet of the Most High, that You would walk with him and be with him and "let none of his words fall to the ground" (1 Samuel 3:19). Through travailing, prevailing prayer, Hannah was able to participate in Your plans for Your people, while experiencing the joy and peace of trusting You.

Lord, stir in my heart with Your will. Move me to travail and prevail in prayer, pushing through and praying through until all You have conceived is birthed and brought forth "in due time." Like the apostle Paul said he travailed like a woman in labor for the purposes and plans of God to be made manifest, give me that kind of passion and perseverance in prayer (Galatians 4:19). Let me know the joy and peace of participating with You, as travail until I prevail, as I press in and pray through, proclaiming with all my heart, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My Friend, I pray you are stirred in your heart to travail and prevail in prayer until God's plans are conceived and birthed in due time, as you are filled the joy and peace of participating with Him in His will for our lives and our world, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking on

the Healing Ministry of Jesus at the Vineyard Church

of San Antonio again this coming Sunday.

Please keep us in prayer for the moving of God's Holy Spirit

in His power and love in the mighty name of Jesus!

I pray the same of you!

Free to Be Like Jesus!

Transforming Power of Healing & Deliverance Ministry

Available through Amazon Today

Tommy Hays' 365 Day Prayer Devotional

Morning by Morning, 2nd Edition

"A Deeply Intimate Journey with Jesus"

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!

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Morning by Morning, May 24 - Restoring "the Voice of Joy"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit-let this day be good day for Your glory through my life. ...

"Behold I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.... Again there shall be heard in this place ... the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: 'Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever'-and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise in the house of the Lord!" (Jeremiah 33:6-11 NKJV)

Even in the days of great judgment against Israel for her sins and rebellion against You proclaimed through the prophet Jeremiah, You were always pointing their hearts in faith and hope to the time of repentance and restoration. Though they experienced the darkness of the depths of their sin and all the consequences that followed, even then Your heart was to bring "health and healing," the "abundance of peace and truth," Your "pardon" and Your "goodness" and Your "prosperity." Your heart was to return to Your people "the voice of joy and the voice of gladness."

I pray that for the people of Israel. I pray that for all the people of the nations of the earth. I pray that for my people, for my nation, and for my own heart. Let repentance bring revival! Let our sadness and sorrow, our darkness and gloom, be turned to joy and praise! I praise You, Lord, for You are good and Your mercy endures forever! I bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord! And from the house of the Lord here in my heart, I praise You and thank You for Your forgiveness and grace, Your mercies that are new every morning, and Your heart to heal and restore.

Father God, You are "longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV). Through Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world, You "so loved the world that (You) gave (Your) only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For (You) did not send (Your) Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17 NKJV). And when it's all be said and done, Your Word even says that "all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins" (Romans 11:26-27 NKJV).

With confidence in Your mercy and faith in Your Word, I look forward and pray for "the times of restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21 NKJV). In prayers of faith, praying Your Word into my world, I am "looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God" (2 Peter 3:12 NKJV). Along with all who are moved by Your Spirit to pray Your will, may the people of Israel and all who call upon Your name to be forgiven and free through repentance and faith to be to You "a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth!" Let it be so here in my heart and here in my generation. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray you experience "health and healing," the "abundance of peace and truth," the Lord's "pardon" and "goodness" and "prosperity," with "the voice of joy and the voice of gladness" rising up in your spirit this day and every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking on

the Healing Ministry of Jesus at the Vineyard Church

of San Antonio again this coming Sunday.

Please keep us in prayer for the moving of God's Holy Spirit

in His power and love in the mighty name of Jesus!

I pray the same of you!

Free to Be Like Jesus!

Transforming Power of Healing & Deliverance Ministry

Available through Amazon Today

Tommy Hays' 365 Day Prayer Devotional

Morning by Morning, 2nd Edition

"A Deeply Intimate Journey with Jesus"

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257