Morning by Morning, August 5, 2026 — The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart as You guide my steps in Your will today—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. …
“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
Lord, my spirit is willing and ready and able, by the power of Your grace at work within me, to arise and follow You wherever You lead. But at the same time, my flesh can be very weak. My spirit can be saying, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” while my flesh is saying, “No! No! No!”
Even the Apostle Pual acknowledged this constant battle that we all have, if we’d be willing to admit it:
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice…. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bring me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members…. So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:18-25).
The man You used to write most of the New Testament had the humility and honesty to confess that even he fought the battle between the spirit and flesh. He acknowledged the war going on his soul, the war between the spirit and the flesh, between his surrendered nature and his carnal nature. There was a war between his “Yes! Yes! Yes, Lord! Where You go, I will go; what You say I will say; I will do whatever You say, Lord!” and his “No! No! No, Lord! Not today, Lord! Send somebody else, Lord! I’m sorry, Lord!”
At times his spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak. Just like Peter, James, and John with You at the Garden of Gethsemane. You wanted them near to You, watching and praying with You, ready to rise up and go with You wherever You led and whatever You said. Their spirit was willing but their flesh was weak.
But through his battles of the spirit and the flesh, Paul discovered this powerful spiritual lesson of being willing to acknowledge our weakness and our need, to call upon Your name and Your strength: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10), if we will turn to You and depend upon You, hearing Your words of spirit and life to strengthen our spirits to overcome our flesh: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9).
That’s how Paul could cry out in his flesh, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24) And then immediately respond, by the grace of God rising up in his spirit, “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (v. 25)
I thank You, my Father God, through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by the ever-abiding power and Presence of Your Holy Spirit. You make me strong when I am weak. You empower my spirit to arise and overcome my flesh. By the power of Your grace, I’m not wretched; I’m beloved. I don’t have to be overcome by my flesh, but I can be an overcomer in my spirit, with Your Holy Spirit awakening and strengthening my human spirit
You’re doing it right now. And You’ll keep on doing it every time I call on You and acknowledge my need, trusting in You to be my Strength. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged this day. In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may you be awakened and strengthened in your spirit to overcome your flesh when it's weak by the power of the grace of God at work within you as you call on the name of the Lord and depend upon His strenght, in Jesus' name. God bless you, my friend! And you have a great day!
Click Here to Listen to Today's Prayer: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2375760
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
502 North Milam Street
Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
Please share this word to encourage a friend! Anyone can sign up for free at: https://messiah-ministries.org
My Books on Inner Healing, Spiritual Freedom and Spiritual Intimacy with God are Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays
“Setting hearts free to be all you were created to be —Free to Be Like Jesus— secure in your identity, growing in maturity, fulfilling your destiny"
https://messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute | 
