Morning by Morning—Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 30 - "Completely One"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father, One with the Holy Spirit. And in the intimacy and mystery of the communion of prayer, I ask You to draw me closer to the place of being one with You. Your Word expresses Your will for us all to be one with You by Your Spirit abiding in us-"that they may all be one. As You, Father are in Me and I am in You, may they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me" (John 17:21). ...

"The glory that You have given Me I have given them, so that they may be one, as We are One, I in them and You in Me, that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that those also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:22-24).

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as best as I can and all by Your grace, I willingly choose to completely yield my will to Your will, my thoughts to Your thoughts, my desires to Your desires, my ways to Your ways, my plans to Your plans. I entrust my life to the life You've chosen for me from before the foundation of the world - "just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love" (Ephesians 1:4). In this way, make me one with You, one with each other in the Body of Christ, one in ministry to all the world, so that the world may believe that the Father has sent His Son to embrace us all in the intimacy and communion of His love through the bonds of His Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, may you be one with Father, one with the Son, and one with the Holy Spirit, completely one with the Lord our God in every way, all by His grace. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

We are thrilled and expectant that over 50 people have signed up to join us for our 6 Week Level 1 School of Ministry for Sozo Inner Healing Prayer Ministry Training, through Rapha God Ministries in San Antonio, starting this Thursday Night, January 31. Please keep us in prayer for this course for equipping and training in healing prayer ministry! (www.RaphaGodMinistries.com)

I'm really excited to be speaking on The Healing Nature of Jesus during "An Evening of Healing" with Max Lucado at Oak Hills Church, at the main Crownridge Campus in San Antonio Wednesday Night, February 6 at 7pm. Please come join us if you can (www.oakhillschurch.com).

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 29 - Give, Do Good, and Love

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look and listen; I watch and wait. Come Holy Spirit, draw me near to my Father's heart in my Savior's name. ...

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:32-36).

Give, expecting nothing. Do good, even when no one is looking or even when the ones who are looking are doing evil. Love, even at the risk of rejection, even in the face of misunderstanding or outright hatred. Though Your grace is free, Your calling is high. And clear - if I truly want to choose to live my life like a son of God. The children of the Most High are called to embrace the heart of the Most High.

Lord, I don't think my heart is that high yet. I think there's still too much of me that wants to insist on being right, on being treated right, on all things being just and fair, neat and tidy, even-handed and sure-footed. But Your Word and Your Spirit call me live from a deeper place, where my responses are not determined by someone's actions and my actions are not determined by the responses I desire.

That deeper place is an invitation to live in a deeper level of spiritual maturity. That deeper place is called the Kingdom of God. It's the Kingdom of God abiding inside my heart and expressed through my life. "For, in fact, the Kingdom of God is within (me)" (Luke 17:21). And through the mercy of Your grace, I am a son of the King, a child of the Most High, empowered by God to give and do good and love with my Father's heart. Help me desire it more deeply, so I can live it more fully, as best as I can and all by Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, I pray the Kingdom of God within you will arise and flow out of you today with the heart of God, giving, doing good, and loving everywhere you go and with everyone you're with. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Over 45 people have signed up to join us for our 6 Week Level 1 School of Ministry for Sozo Inner Healing Prayer Ministry Training, through Rapha God Ministries in San Antonio, starting this Thursday Night, January 31. Please register and come join us; seating is limited, but we've been able to move our School over to Oak Hills Church for our classes to accommodate everyone. Please keep us in prayer for this course for equipping and training in healing prayer ministry! (www.RaphaGodMinistries.com)

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Monday, January 28, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 28 - "The Path of Life"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me beside Your still waters, as I start my day in the depths of Your Presence and the communion of prayer. ...

"I keep the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.... You show me the path of life. In Your Presence there is the fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:8-11).

With the eyes of my heart set upon You and the ears of my spirit open toward You, I am steady and secure, deeply at peace and full of joy. Here in this holy place of Your Presence in the communion of prayer, You ground me in Your Word and fill me with Your Spirit. This is the path of life You've shown me.

And You've taught me to start down this path every day. It's wise - and maybe even necessary - to first spend the first moments of my morning in the deliberate and deep place of abiding in Your Presence. Seeking Your face, listening for Your voice, watching and waiting for Your leading, worshipping You in Spirit and truth, resting in the embrace and confidence of Your tender mercies and steadfast love before anything else is my way of offering to You the first fruits of my day. And then in the power of Your grace, You help me keep You always before me throughout the moments of my day.

This is a good path - the path that leads to life, abundant life in You. Thank You, Lord, for teaching me this path. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may the Holy Spirit draw you into the deliberate and deep place of abiding in the Presence of God every day on your path of life. May you be at peace and full of joy, confident in our Father's love and grace for you. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

43 people have signed up to join us for our 6 Week Level 1 School of Ministry for Sozo Inner Healing Prayer Ministry Training, through Rapha God Ministries in San Antonio, starting this Thursday Night, January 31. Please register and come join us; seating is limited, but we've been able to move our School over to Oak Hills Church for our classes to accommodate everyone. Please keep us in prayer for this course for equipping and training in healing prayer ministry! (www.RaphaGodMinistries.com)

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Friday, January 25, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 25 - Power, Provision, Protection, and Purpose in the Name of Jesus

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name is powerful and mighty. And I speak it out as my praise to You and declaration of Your authority over my life and over this day. ...

"You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified His Son Jesus.... And by faith in His name, His name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you" (Acts 3:12-16).

Not by our own power or piety, not by our doing the right things or saying the right words, not by anything we've earned or deserved, but by the powerful and mighty name of Jesus does the God of heaven display His glory on earth. "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved" - "saved" to the uttermost with the eternal life, healing, freedom, wholeness, and peace that comes through Christ alone in the power of the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).

"Therefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

Jesus, You are my Lord and Savior. "Jesus Christ-He is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36). I declare Your name to glory of God my Father over my "spirit and soul and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). I declare Your name over my past, present, and future. I declare Your name over my identity and destiny, my gifts and calling, my hopes and dreams, my thoughts and desires. I declare Your name over my sins and failures, my missed opportunities and disappointments, my fears and regrets. I declare Your name over where I live, where I work, where I minister, everywhere I go. I declare Your name over every cell in my body, every provision for my finances, every means of Your protection, every dimension of my life. I declare Your name over every relationship, strategic alignment, and bond of trust. I declare Your name over every plan, scheme, strategy, temptation, means of influence and means of access of the enemy of my soul and the weakness of my flesh. And I declare Your name over every victory through the power of the cross of Jesus Christ in my life and my world, throughout all time and space and every dimension. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I declare to You and all heaven and earth, that I desire to leave nothing out from under the covering of the name of Jesus over every area of my life. I believe there's power, provision, protection, and purpose in the name of Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray for and delcare in agreement with you the power, provision, protection, and purpose of the name of Jesus over every area of your life! Please pray and declare the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

I'm really excited to be speaking on The Healing Nature of Jesus during "An Evening of Healing" with Max Lucado at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio Wednesday Night, February 6 at 7pm. Please come join us if you can (www.oakhillschurch.com).

Starting Thursday Night, January 31, we will begin a 6 Week Level 1 School of Ministry for Sozo Inner Healing Prayer Ministry Training, at our ministry office at Rapha God Ministries in San Antonio. Please come join us; seating is limited. We are excited that 20 people have already signed up for this course for equipping and training in healing prayer ministry! (www.RaphaGodMinistries.com)

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 24 - "All Things are Possible"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes, open up my heart, and welcome You into my day. ...

"Jesus said to him, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief' " (Mark 9:23, NKJ).

When I hear this Scripture quoted or prayed, most of the time the emphasis is upon the man's unbelief. It's usually expressed by someone who finds it hard to belief, usually because of doubt and unbelief, rooted in repeated disappointments and discouragement of the past. And of course, we've all felt disappointed and discouraged at times. It's part of the journey of life through a world where we live between the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth and into our lives from the first coming of Christ but not yet fully manifested on earth as it is in heaven until the second coming of Christ. So our part is to continue to pray and believe for Your Kingdom to come, for Your will to be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.

So it seems Your point in the story of this Scripture is to emphasis belief, not unbelief. And it seems to me You want the emphasis of our belief to be primarily on You and Your nature, not primarily on our belief in the thing we are asking of You. "With God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). You encourage us to seek first the Kingdom of God and Your righteousness, then all these things we feel we need and all these things we ask of You will be given unto us (Matthew 6:33).

Lord, help my belief. Help me grow in my understanding of You and Your nature. Help me trust You more every day, trusting that You are a good God and You want the very best for Your children as our perfect and holy Father. Help me know that You are at work in all things - even the things intended for harm and that break Your heart, even the things that seem to be taking too long to come to pass, even the things that seem impossible for man and sometimes even seem impossible for God. Help me be one choosing to live my life from the perspective of embracing Your invitation, "Only believe" (Mark 5:36). From that perspective and attitude of heart, "all things are possible." So that's what I choose to believe, as best as I can and all by Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Friends, may the Holy Spirit stir in your heart to help your belief in our good God for whom all things are possible. May He increase expectant hope in your spirit for all our perfect and holy Father has in His heart for your life. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

In this new season, I will still be leading Messiah Ministries, but also joining in leadership as the Pastoral Director of Rapha God Ministries based in San Antonio, Texas, continuing my calling of equipping and ministry of inner healing -- healing from the inside out -- to see God's people set from from their past and awakened to their identity and destiny in Christ. I'll also continue to share these morning prayers, teach our 4 Day Schools in Kentucky and elsewhere, and still travel to speak and minister as the Lord leads with the relationships we've established and the new ones to be formed, at home and abroad.

For a few months of transition, the Messiah Ministries mailing address in Lexington will remain the same, but I will be moving into my new office and the new base for ministry will be at: 4 Dominion Drive, Building 1; San Antonio, Texas 78257 www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

God bless you and thank you for all your prayers and friendship!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

2800 Tates Creek Road

Lexington, Kentucky 40502

www.messiah-ministries.org

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 23 - After 40 Years, Let Abortion "Come to a Full End"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are One and You are holy and You are here. I welcome You, Lord, in every dimension of Your Being into every dimension of my being. ...

Yesterday marked the forty-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade, where abortion of our children became the law of our land. I'm sure some celebrated; but the heaviness of my heart and stirring in my spirit as I think on these things cause me to believe that heaven did not.

"...'But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and shall suffer for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for every year you shall bear your iniquity, forty years, and you shall know My displeasure.' I the Lord have spoken; surely I will do thus to this wicked generation gathered together against Me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die" (Number 14:32-35).

Lord, forgive us as a nation for engaging in this evil that we call freedom of will to do whatever we want with our right to choose, while rejecting our children's right to life. And for forty years, we have suffered and our children have suffered under the weight of our sin and the measures of withdrawn blessing and favor from Your displeasure. We truly have no idea of the death and devastation we've allowed to come into our nation and our generations through this open door of our national sin and shame. And apart from Your conviction that leads us to repentance so we can embrace Your mercy, we shall come to a full end.

In these fifteen years of inner healing prayer ministry, I've prayed with many mothers who aborted their children, many not even believing it was wrong at the time, who lived in deep regret and inner shame for choosing or participating in the death of their child. I've prayed with many fathers who were just as guilty as well, whether through their absence, insistence, or tolerance. And how beautiful to see, over and over again, Your forgiveness and mercy wash over their repentant hearts as You healed their hurts, forgave their sin, and cleansed their shame, allowing them the grace to give a mother or father's blessing to their child they were now willing to affirm as a life created by God.

According to Your judgment, it was a wicked generation that spied out the Promise Land but refused to enter it, gathered against You and Your word and Your will for their nation. They were judged to suffer for forty years under the burden of their national sin and defiance in rebellion against You. Yet there were also those among them who were of "a different spirit" who would not settle in their hearts for anything less than restoration to full blessings and favor of God that flows from obedience to the will of God by the power of the grace of God (v. 14:24). And though they suffered with their nation for those forty years, even as they prayed and longed for the day of repentance to come and the years of suffering to end, there came a day when they were allowed to enter in to the Promise Land with a new generation of a different spirit (v. 14:30-31).

O Lord, now that our forty years have passed, may You stir up a spirit of repentance in the heart of our nation. Make a way where there seems to be no way. Let it be the sin and evil of abortion that "shall come to a full end" so that our land and our hearts shall be free to enter in to all You've prepared and destined for us. Your plans and Your will is for our good and not for our harm, for a future with hope, if we will choose to seek Your face and call on Your name (Jeremiah 29:11).

As You spoke the nation of Israel at the end of their forty years, with the opportunity to enter in to the Promise Land, so I believe You are speaking to our nation today: "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life, so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him and holding fast to Him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you many live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob" (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

Lord, let us hear the call of Your Spirit, to not give up and to hold fast to You, in prayer and intercession, persevering in faith, contending in the Spirit, until we see our breakthrough come. As Your Word promises in Your eternal call and invitation to covenant for revival: "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray, seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Friends, will you join with me and those who are passionately praying for abortion to end? I admit I have not always been moved with passion and pray on this issue, but the more I see the deep devestation that comes from this sin and the power of the grace of God to heal and forgive all who are involved, the more passionate I become. I pray you will passionately follow the Holy Spirit's burdens on your heart for prayer and intercession. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

God bless you and thank you for all your prayers and friendship!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

2800 Tates Creek Road

Lexington, Kentucky 40502

www.messiah-ministries.org

Friday, January 18, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 18 – “Taught by the Spirit”

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You’re my Lord and Savior, my Healer and Redeemer, my Best Friend and Faithful Companion. Thank You for the beginning of another day of our great adventure in my journey of faith. …

“But as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him’ — these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God…. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:9-13).

Holy Spirit of God, teach me the deep things of God, the spiritual things that human wisdom can’t know, the spiritual things that eyes haven’t seen and ears haven’t heard. Teach me things that my God has prepared for me for God’s purposes through me. Teach me Spirit to spirit, as “Deep calls to deep” (Psalm 42:7).

I want to be a spiritual man, taught by the Spirit of God. I want to abide in You, as You abide in me, learning from Your Holy Spirit as I listen from my human spirit (John 15:4). Help me become fully developed in my spiritual life, always living and learning, growing up and maturing, “in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 17 - Friends Refresh My Spirit

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In these first moments of my morning, help me focus on You and press in to Your Presence. ...

"I rejoice at the coming of Staphanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. So give recognition to such persons" (1 Corinthians 16:17-18).

Thank You for my friends who refresh my spirit. By their words, they bless me; by their prayers, they cover me; by their thoughtfulness, they encourage me. Whether personally in their presence or more remotely through the nearly-infinite media of communication, I'm so grateful for the faithful friends of faith and joyful companions on the journey who inspire and challenge me, as they refresh and encourage me, to be all You've created me to be and called me to do. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friends, thank you for your friendship and companionship with me in the journey of prayer. May you be refreshed in your spirit by those the Lord has called into your life and accross your path. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

This Weekend, I'll be back in Kentucky leading a Spiritual Renewal Weekend at Bagby Memorial United Methodist Church in Grayson, Kentucky, January 18-20 with my good friend Pastor Susan Elkow (http://bagbyumc.org/events.php). Come join us if you can!

I'm really excited to be invited to speak on The Healing Nature of Jesus during "An Evening of Healing" with Max Lucado at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio Wednesday Night, February 6 at 7pm. Please come join us if you can (www.oakhillschurch.com).

God bless you and thank you for all your prayers and friendship!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

2800 Tates Creek Road

Lexington, Kentucky 40502

www.messiah-ministries.org

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 16 - Seek the Face of God

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I lift up the gate of my heart and open up the door of my spirit that the King of glory may come in. ...

"Who will ascend the hill of the Lord? And who will stand in His holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully. 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).

O God of Jacob - the God who brings breakthrough from our brokenness, who brings beauty from our ashes, who brings freedom from our bondage - the God who brings good out of evil, light out of darkness, and righteousness out of injustice - You are my God. And I seek You. I seek Your face; I listen for Your voice; I wait for Your leading.... Selah ...

It seems I hear You say, "My son, My blood cleanses your hands and My Spirit purifies your heart. The throne of My Presence in the hill of the Lord and all are welcome who will humble themselves to let Me cleanse them in My blood and purify them with My Spirit. I readily embrace all who seek Me with all their heart."

Yes, Lord. Your Word says, "When you search for Me, you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 29:13-14). Your Word says we are cleansed from all unrighteousness by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7-9). Your Word says Your Spirit of Truth frees us from what is false and leads us into all truth (John 16:13). And nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).

Lord, let my heart be true and not deceitful. Let me lift up my soul to You and no other. I want to ascend the hill of the Lord; I want to spend the moments of my day abiding in Your Presence, no matter where I am or what I do. Keep my hands clean and my heart pure. Let me be counted among the company of those who passionately seek You with all their heart, O God of Jacob. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Friends, by the power of the blood Jesus and the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit, all through the mercy and grace of our Father in Heaven, may you have clean hands and a pure heart in your passionate pursuit of the face of God. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

God bless you and thank you for all your prayers and friendship!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

2800 Tates Creek Road

Lexington, Kentucky 40502

www.messiah-ministries.org

Monday, January 14, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 14 - "About My Father's Business"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Word of God made Flesh. Let Your Word be made Flesh in my thoughts and desires today. ...

"And (Jesus) said to them, 'Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?' ... And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:49-52).

I those thirty-three years You walked this earth as the Son of God made flesh as the Son of Man, You were always about Your Father's business. With each step and each day, You increased in wisdom and stature; You increased in divine and human favor. The hand of God and the Spirit of God were upon You (Acts 10:38).

Now, as the Body of Christ we have "the Spirit of Christ" abiding within us (Romans 8:9). Together as one, we are to be like You in this world (1 John 4:17). We are to be about our Father's business every day. We are to grow in wisdom and stature and favor. Moved and empowered by Your Spirit in obedience to our Father, we are to hear the cry of the needy and minister the saving, healing, freeing love and power of God in the spheres of influence You've entrusted to us.

As we do, all in abiding, personal relationship with You, we'll continue to grow and increase, becoming all You've created us and called us to be as Your Body in this world. By Your Holy Spirit, moving us in the ministry of our Father, You "equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until all of us come to a unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children.... But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:12-15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Friends, I pray you will be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be about Your Father's business in the name and nature of Jesus Christ today. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

If you're in the Kentucky area, I'll be leading a Spiritual Renewal Weekend at Bagby Memorial United Methodist Church in Grayson, Kentucky, January 18-20 with my good friend Pastor Susan Elkow (http://bagbyumc.org/events.php). Come join us if you can!

God bless you and thank you for all your prayers and friendship!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

2800 Tates Creek Road

Lexington, Kentucky 40502

www.messiah-ministries.org

Friday, January 11, 2013

Morning by Morning, January 11 - "Abound in Hope"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me close to You - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let there be nothing between us, so I can hear Your voice and follow Your leading. ...

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

We are not created and called to merely have hope, to hold on to hope, to hope against hope. No, we're created and called to "abound in hope." Hope is to continually rise up in us, to overflow out of us, to change the atmosphere around us. And in that believing, overflowing, abounding hope, we are filled with all joy and peace in believing by the God of hope.

And thank You, Lord, that we don't have to manufacture this ourselves or try to talk ourselves into this perspective and attitude. This kind of hope comes "by the power of the Holy Spirit" and only "by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Come, Holy Spirit. Stir up hope within me today. Remind me of the promises of God. Remind me of the moments of supernatural provision and protection and power manifested by the God of my salvation. Remind me of the steadfast love and unfailing mercy of my God who forgives me of my sins, heals me of my wounds, and frees me from my chains. Remind me of the gifts and calling of God that are without repentance and for the building up of His Body and the reaching out to the lost to express His glory in the earth. And remind me of all my God has done by the power of His love and grace in me so that He can express His love and grace through me.

Let all of this rise up within me and flow freely through me, abounding in hope, filled with the joy and peace of my God. Let me never settle for getting by and getting along, but purposefully choosing to live in faith believing there's always more and the best is yet to come. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray you will abound in hope today! Be filled with the joy and peace of our God of hope, believing in Him that there's always more and the best is yet to come! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

God bless you and thank you for all your prayers and friendship!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

2800 Tates Creek Road

Lexington, Kentucky 40502

www.messiah-ministries.org