Friday, August 30, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 30 - Firm Steps on His Path
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I look to You and listen for Your leading in these first moments of my morning, You make me settled and secure, covered and content, in Your plan for my day and Your presence in my spirit. ...
 
"Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when He delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand" (Psalm 37:23-24).
 
Take me by the hand and lead me by the heart. Guide my steps and make them firm. Then, even if I stumble, You'll be there to catch me; and even if I fall, You'll be there to lift me up. 
 
As best as I can and all by Your grace, I want my way to be godly in You so You can delight in my way before You. I want to "walk in the Light" You've set before me by the power of Your grace at work within me (1 John 1:7). "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT).
 
Thank You for all Your mercy and grace when I have fallen and failed. And thank You for all Your mercy and grace to help keep me from falling and failing again. "The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again" (Proverbs 24:16 NLT). 
 
As You said through Your Word, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the Atoning Sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2). I'm forever in need of Your Atoning Sacrifice, the power of Your Blood, that forgives me and cleanses me from all the unrighteous of all my falls and failures through the gift of confession and the grace of repentance (1 John 1:9).
 
Your promise is ever true and gives me peace every day:  "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts.... They will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of their salvation. Such is the company of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob" (Psalm 24:3-6)
 
I do seek You. I do confess my sins, acknowledge my falls and failures before You. I do turn my heart to You in humble repentance and trusting faith. And I do receive all the mercy and grace You've provided for me through the Blood of Jesus, my Advocate and Atoning Sacrifice for all my sins. This is how You lead me "in the paths of righteousness" (Psalm 23:3).
 
Now I can ascend that hill of the Lord, the mountain of my God, into the holy place of Your presence. Now I can walk in Your Light and walk in the way that brings delight to Your heart along the steps You've set before me today -- not by what I've done or will do, but all by the mercy and grace of all You've done for me. As the old hymn of worship proclaims -- "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow! ... Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!" In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you walk in the firm steps of God's paths of righteousness for you today, trusting in Your Advocate who forgives you and empowers you and leads you in the way that delights the heart of God, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

        

Our School of Ministry Starts Next Week!

Our Level 1 School of Ministry is a comprehensive Prayer Ministry training based on God's Word, designed to inform and provide a Biblical foundation for inner healing and freedom prayer in a casual learning environment. Topics include Biblical Principles of Inner Healing -- "Healing from the Inside Out," Spiritual Gifts, and Potential Barriers to Healing, as well as a brief overview of Inner Healing and Personal Prayer tools. The training includes six, three hour evening sessions over the course of three weeks in the early Fall.


 

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! God bless you!

 



   
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Thursday, August 29, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 29 - "Pray in the Spirit at All Times"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Deep to deep, Spirit to spirit, I want to begin my day centered in You and go through the moments of my day in constant communion with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication" (Ephesians 6:18).
 
First Your Word commands us to "take up the whole armor of God" -- the "helmet of salvation," the "breastplate of righteousness," the "belt of truth," the "shoes of peace," the "shield of faith," and the "sword of the Spirit." (Ephesians 6:13:17). Then Your very next command is to "Pray in the Spirit at all times" (Ephesians 6:18).  That's how we are "strong in the Lord and the strength of (Your) power" (Ephesians 6:10). That's how You empower us to "stand firm" and "stand against the wiles of the devil" and "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil" (Ephesians 6:11-12).
 
Lord, I'm learning more every day how to put on the full armor of God, to be clothed in Christ (Galatians 3:27) who is my Salvation, my Righteousness, my Truth, my Peace, my Faith, and my Word. And at the same time, I'm learning more every day how to "pray in the Spirit at all times." Teach me and empower me how to "pray without ceasing" as my spirit constantly abides in communion with Your Spirit throughout every moment of my day (1 Thessalonians 5:17). You wouldn't command it if it were not possible. And with You, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26), just as all things are possible for the one who believes in You (Mark 9:23).
 
Come, Holy Spirit. Pray through me all day long. No matter what else I'm thinking about, no matter what else I'm doing, I'm asking You to keep praying through me, with my spirit in constant communion with You (Ephesians 6:18). "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words" (Romans 8:24). "What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sign praise with the mind also" (1 Corinthians 14:15). "But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20).
 
So as I get up from my prayer chair now to go out into my day, I go with God and God goes with me. But I won't stop praying in my spirit and I won't stop abiding in Your Presence. "Deep calls to deep" (Psalm 42:7). You're the Vine and I'm one of Your branches (John 15:5); and the life-giving, ever-flowing Spirit of the Living God will continue to flow through me -- Spirit to spirit and Deep to deep -- throughout all the moments of my day to "bear much fruit" in me and through me as Your child and Your disciple, by Your power and for Your glory (John 15:8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you be inspired and empowered to pray in the Spirit at all times, throughout every moment of your day in constant communion with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

        

Our School of Ministry Starts Next Week!

Our Level 1 School of Ministry is a comprehensive Prayer Ministry training based on God's Word, designed to inform and provide a Biblical foundation for inner healing and freedom prayer in a casual learning environment. Topics include Biblical Principles of Inner Healing -- "Healing from the Inside Out," Spiritual Gifts, and Potential Barriers to Healing, as well as a brief overview of Inner Healing and Personal Prayer tools. The training includes six, three hour evening sessions over the course of three weeks in the early Fall.


 

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! God bless you!

 



   
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!

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 28 - "Have Peace in Me and My Words for You"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Lord and Savior, my "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6) -- I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
 
"I am not alone because the Father is with Me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:32-33 NLT).
 
I'm never alone because You are always with me. Whatever my problems, I can have my peace in You and Your word for me.
 
You're a good Father. You're a merciful Savior. You're an ever-present Comforter. You're with me through the "many trials and sorrows" I endure on my journey through this broken and fallen world, which is really a journey of You making me more like You a little more every day. I can "take heart" in You because You have taken hold of me.
 
I believe I hear You speaking to my heart: "Have peace in Me. Let My words penetrate your spirit and wash over your mind, as you seek to abide in Me and allow Me to abide in you." ...
 
Yes, Lord. Let Your words speak to me. ...
 
With every challenging person, You're teaching me how to love (1 Peter 1:22). With every challenging battle, You're teaching me how to fight the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12). With every challenging decision, You're teaching me how to listen for Your leading and choose Your ways, trusting You to know what's best (Isaiah 30:21; Joshua 24:15; Romans 8:14). With every challenging obstacle to face and mountain to climb and burden to bear and tragedy to get through and spiritual enemy to overcome, You're teaching me how to pray (Luke 11:1), how to proclaim (Mark 11:23), how to press in and press through and persevere (Luke 11:9), until I'm more than a conqueror in You (Romans 8:37) to look back and see that with my God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26) and that all things are possible for the one who believes in You (Mark 9:23).
 
As I remember and hear all that You have told me, I have peace in You (John 16:33). "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Thank You for reminding me and speaking to me Your powerful words today (2 Timothy 3:16). Let them go forth in me and into my every moment of my day. They will not fail; they will not return empty; and they will succeed and accomplish all to which You have purposed for me (Isaiah 55:11; Luke 1:37). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you have peace in the One who is always with you and always speaking His words to you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

      
    


 

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! God bless you!

 



   
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!

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 27 - Surrounded by the Wall of Fire
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father and One with the Holy Spirit. Be One within me, as I entrust my life and this day to You.  ...
 
"For I, says the Lord, will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst" (Zechariah 2:5 NKJV).
 
O Lord, my God, You are a Holy Fire around me. And the glory of Your Holy Spirit fills me. Around me and within me, You abide in me as I abide in You (John 15:3). Nothing touches me that doesn't touch You first. Nothing gets through to me that doesn't go through You first. "You, O Lord, are a Shield around me, my Glory, and the One who lifts my head" (Psalm 3:3).
 
Take every attack from the spiritual enemy of my soul and turn it around to make me stronger and wiser in the ways of Your Spirit. Take everything intended for evil and turn it into good (Genesis 50:20). Even in the midst of the battles, I take comfort and find courage in Your ultimate sovereignty to work it all for good -- even the things that break Your heart and seek to break my spirit. The enemy will never have the last word as I keep turning to the One who is the Word -- from beginning to end (John 1:1; Revelation 1:8). "For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory" (Romans 11:36).
 
In Your way and in Your time, Your turn it all around to restore, to redeem, and even to multiply with increase all that it seems I'm losing at the time. From Your very first disciples until today, You continue to speak encouragement and hope to our hearts when it seems we're suffering loss and more than we can bear as we seek to follow You:  "Peter began to say to Him, 'Look, we have left everything and followed You.' Jesus said, 'Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for My sake and for the sake of the Good News, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age -- houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions -- and in the age to come eternal life" (Mark 10:28-30).
 
So surround me in Your Fire and fill me with Your Spirit. Remind me that You're with me and You'll get me through this -- just like You always have and just like You always will. You are the One "called Faithful and True" (Revelation 19:11). As You said through Your Word long ago:  "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flames shall not consume you. For I AM the Lord you God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.... You are precious in My sight, and honored, and I love you.... Do not fear, for I AM with you!" (Isaiah 43:1-5) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you find hope and take courage in the ever-abiding Presence of the One who is Faithful and True, like a Wall of Fire around you, always with you and always for you, turning everything into good for you in His way and in His time, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

     
    


 

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! God bless you!

 



   
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!

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Friday, August 23, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 23 - Persevering Praise!
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I thank You for being with me always, just like You said You would (Matthew 28:20). ...
 
"The magistrates had (Paul and Silas) stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God...." (Acts 16:22-25).
 
What a dramatic turn in the story line of Paul and Silas! They were stripped naked, publicly humiliated, beaten, shackled, and shut away in a dark dungeon. You'd expect the next sentence in the story to be something like "Then they cried out to God for mercy" or "Then they railed against their jailers and the authorities for this great injustice and cruelty" or even "Then they began to question the goodness of God and whether they had missed God's will and whether following their faith was worth the cost." But instead, we hear "Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God!"
 
That throws a wet blanket on the bonfire of my little pity parties. That calls out the shallowness of my faithfulness. And that puts a little perspective around my problems.
 
Their answer was not to whine and complain and sulk. Their answer was to worship and pray and sing, to lift up their eyes to the heavens and their voices to their God. Their voices filled that prison. And their voices moved Your heart. "Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened!" (Acts 16:26)
 
Praise is powerful! Worship opens the windows of heaven! Persevering through persecution shakes everything and everyone around us! By the end of it all, the jailor and all his family were saved (Acts 16:33), the authorities were confronted and humbled (Acts 16:39), and Paul and Silas were set free to carry on with their mission of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ everywhere they went! (Acts 16:40)
 
Lord, set things right in my spirit. Give me a perspective that perseveres through whatever persecution or problems I face with a heart that won't stop worshipping You and praising You through it all. Even when it seems like it's "about midnight" -- at the darkest moments when I've almost lost sight of any light at all, and no matter how deep in the dungeon I feel -- give me faith and hope to believe You're the God who can suddenly move in a moment. You're the God who can send an earthquake to shake up everything around me and shift my circumstances for my good and Your glory. 
 
Remind me that I don't always know who's watching me go through it, looking to see how I'll endure it. But You're at work in it all, not wasting a moment of my sufferings, to make me more like You and bring more people into the grace of Your mercy and love (Romans 8:28-29). Persevering praise is a great principle of breakthrough prayer and a mighty "weapon of (our) warfare!" You've entrusted to us (2 Corinthians 10:4) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you persevere in praise through whatever problems you're facing and experience breakthrough in your prayers, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

     
Preaching in Pakistan This Saturday.
Friends, please keep us in prayer this weekend (Saturday morning in Texas/Saturday night in Pakistan). If the weather permits, I will be preaching another one of our outdoor evangelistic meetings in Pakistan through our Skype Internet Ministry. Each month, I am preaching in different villages around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region. Through our team there with Pastor Fazal and Brother Suleman, we set up a tent or facility with a big screen, projector, interpreter, and prayer team. Thank you to all my friends who pray for us and support us to make this ministry possible each month! God bless you!

"And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come!" (Matthew 24:14)
    


 

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! God bless you!

 



   
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!

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