Morning by Morning, May 6 -- "Good Morning, Lord Jesus..."
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Good morning, Lord Jesus. ...
For about fifteen years, I've spoken those words first in my morning prayer and written those words first in my prayer journal to begin my day. Those are the words that came to me first that first morning when You called me to this "morning by morning" journey those many years ago.
It became my way of beginning my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. It became my way of seeking You first and Your Kingdom and Your righteousness, before anything else, so that You would have First Place in my day and First Place in my life. And the journey has continued -- morning by morning, day by day, season by season -- through this increasingly intimate and deeply personal season of my life.
Some call it contemplative prayer or centering prayer or listening prayer or prayer of silence and surrender to watch and wait for the leading of the Lord. Whatever it's called, it's been such a tender way of Your Holy Spirit moving in my human spirit to come awake and come away with You, to come up higher with You into this high and holy place of Your Presence -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
You gave me the name for my daily prayer journey of "Morning by Morning" from the words You spoke through the prophet Jeremiah in the midst of a difficult and challenging season of his life and in the lives of those he was called to serve and to love, as he shared Your words of encouragement and hope:
"But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
great is Your faithfulness.
'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul,
'therefore I will hope in Him.'
'therefore I will hope in Him.'
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul that seeks Him.
to the soul that seeks Him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord"
for the salvation of the Lord"
(Lamentations 3:21-26).
I thank You, Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- that Your mercies are new every morning and never come to an end. That Your love is steadfast and never ceases. That You are good to those who wait for You, who seek You, who wait quietly before You in the silence of surrender to let You speak what's on Your heart and let You lead down the path You've chosen into the fullness of our salvation and the depths of Your Presence.
Then sometime soon along the way, whether exactly the first day or not I don't really remember now, I believe I sensed the prompting of Your Spirit to share these morning prayers from my journal. The thought was that my prayer could come into agreement with others who were praying, and that together we could begin our day embraced by our Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. And though it's not been for everyone, and for some just for a season, I've had great joy in knowing that many have been encouraged and comforted, even awaked into a deeper desire for intimacy with You in every dimension of Your Being as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as we surrender every dimension our being to You from our "spirit and soul and body" in worship and prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
"The Lord God has given me
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning He wakens --
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught"
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning He wakens --
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught"
(Isaiah 50:4).
But no matter how this journey began or how it has grown and developed along the way, I do thank You that this has been a deeply honest and intimate journey with You. I feel like I could face just about anything I may have to endure on my journey to maturity in You as You seek to make me more like You each day, as long as I have a lifeline of prayer and deep communion of personal relationship with You, where deep calls to Deep, heart to Heart, and spirit to Spirit, morning by morning.
In Ezekiel's vision of the spiritual temple where the living waters would flow, he spoke of the sacrifice to be made morning by morning:
"He shall provide a lamb, a yearling, without blemish, for a burnt offering to the Lord daily; morning by morning he shall provide it. And he shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning regularly, one-sixth of an ephah, and one-third of a hin of oil to moisten the choice flour, as a grain offering to the Lord; this is the ordinance for all time. Thus the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided, morning by morning, as a regular burnt offering" (Ezekiel 46:13-15).
You are the Lamb. And You are the High Priest who has made the offering of Your life for each one of us, that we could draw near to You, that we could embrace the gift of Your steadfast love and Your tender mercies that never come to end, that are new for us every morning. So I offer these morning prayers to You as my spiritual act of worship in trusting surrender of my life to Yours, of every dimension of my being to every Dimension of Your Being (Romans 12:1). Lord, let Your Living Waters flow into me and flow out of me -- along with all Your children who seek You and wait upon You and offer their lives as a living sacrifice to You -- to bring Your life into our world "morning by morning" every day and every way You desire (Ezekiel 47:1-12). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may you be begin and live into every day embraced by our Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit, to let the love and life of God flow through you and make a difference in your world, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays
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