Friday, August 02, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 2 - Becoming a "Man of God"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Here in these first moments of my morning, I enter Your gates with thanksgiving and Your courts with praise -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"As for you, man of God, shun all this (the "many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction"); pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witness" (1 Timothy 6:11-12).
 
With all my heart, I want to be a man of God. But even as I pray this out to You, I have to admit there are still some places in my heart that can easily be drawn into the "many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction" (1 Timothy 6:9). The truth is -- if I'm really honest with myself and with You -- there's still much of my flesh that still needs to die, much of my selfishness and plain old self-centered pride that needs to embrace deeper humility, fuller surrender, and greater dependence upon You alone as the Source of all the need and the Standard of all I'm called to be.
 
So I do make the good confession that I deeply desire to be a man of God. And at the same time, I make the honest confession that I still have a long way to go. I do take hold of eternal life in You and I do need You to take hold of every part of my heart that stills desires a worldly life in me.
 
I'm so thankful that You know me and You know all about me, yet You love me and You are for me. I take comfort and encouragement in the unending promise and unfailing grace of Your Word:  "For He know how we were made; He remembers that we are dust.... But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him" (Psalm 103:14-17).
 
I do fear You, Lord. Despite all my sins and struggles, I seek to honor You, to reverence You, to trust You, and obey You -- as best as I can and all by Your grace while You are still at work in me. "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him ... (helping me moment by moment and day by day to) hold firmly to the word of life" (Philippians 2:13-16 NLT).
 
Like David, I want to be "a man after (God's) own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). By the power of Your mercy and love, I want to be the man of God You created me and called me to be. "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within (me), will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns" -- You'll be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6 NLT). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My Friend, may you become the man or woman of God you were created to be, all by the power of God's grace at work within you, trusting He who began a good work in you will faithful to complete it, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

   
Friends, many have suggested that I put these prayers that I write and send out from my morning devotional time each day into a book. Great idea! If you'd like to order one where we've collected one year's worth of my prayer devotionals into two different editions, you can order either the first edition (from the earlier years) or the second edition (from more recent years) of Morning by Morning through Amazon. Thank you for your encouragement and God bless you in your daily journey of prayer!

 




 



My Latest Book!
Friends, I'm excited we've recently published an updated version to my book Free to Be Like Jesus! -- Transforming Power of Inner Healing & Deliverance endorsed by Max Lucado, Andy Reese, and Randy Clark.

  

   
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 01, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 1 - The Potter and the Clay
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. In worship and praise, I watch and wait for Your leading -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are the work of Your hands" (Isaiah 64:8).
 
In the times when my world seems like it's spinning out of control, You remind me that I'm still spinning on Your Potter's wheel. In the times when I'm feeling like nothing more than a lump of clay, You remind me that I'm still being shaped into someone You're creating with Your very hands. 
 
The spinning is necessary for the shaping. And I'm not spinning out of control, I'm surrendering to Your complete control. "Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so (am I) in (Your) hand," my Father God (Jeremiah 18:6). 
 
I have to admit, I don't like the spinning. And sometimes the shaping is hard to bear. But I trust You to make something beautiful, something perfectly designed for it's purpose, something that brings great joy to You and will bring great fulfillment to me. May You delight in what You create with Your hands in my life "fit for its purpose" (Isaiah 54:16). "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago" (Ephesians 2:10 NLT).
 
You're the Potter and I'm Your clay. You're my Father and I'm Your son. Lord have Your way in me. In Your mercy and love, according to Your good plans, keep spinning me and shaping me in Your hands through every experience and encounter of my life -- morning by morning, moment by moment, turn by turn on Your Potter's wheel. One day when You're done, I know I'll love who I've become. "I am confident of this, that the One who began a good work (in me) will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ" -- You'll be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you trust in the mercy and love of Your Father, who is shaping you and your life into something beautiful and perfectly designed to bring great joy to Him and great fulfillment to you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 
Many have suggested that I put these prayers that I write and send out from my morning devotional time each day into a book. Great idea! If you'd like to order one where we've collected one year's worth of devotionals into two different editions, you can order either the first edition (from the earlier years) or the second edition (from more recent years) of Morning by Morningthrough Amazon. Thank you for your encouragement and God bless you in your daily journey of prayer!

 




 



My Latest Book!
My Friend, I'm excited we've recently published an updated version to my book Free to Be Like Jesus! -- Transforming Power of Inner Healing & Deliverance endorsed by Max Lucado, Andy Reese, and Randy Clark.

  

   
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, July 31, 2019

Morning by Morning, July 31 - Words from the Heart
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes and open up my heart to see what You're doing and hear what You're saying. You said Your sheep hear Your voice (John 10:3). I'm listening, Lord. ...
 
"What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart" (Matthew 15:18).
 
My words reveal my heart. My words reveal my mood, my beliefs, my priorities. My words reveal my hopes and dreams, my fears and regrets. And my words reveal the measure of my faith in You and Your Word and Your will for my life. You judge us by our words because our words judge our hearts. As You said long ago, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.... I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:34).
 
Lord, let my heart be right so my words will be right. Keep creating in me a clean heart and renewing a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).
 
Fill my heart with Your peace, love, and joy today so You can fill my mouth with Your words of spirit, life, and truth today. Your spiritual principles declare, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21). So let the words that come off my tongue speak of the life in Christ that's in my heart.
 
You remind us to use our words wisely because they are an expression of Your nature being formed in our nature:  "Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God ... so that God may be glorified in all things" (1 Peter 4:10-11). So let the nature of my words reflect the nature of my God.
 
I need more of Your nature in me (2 Peter 1:4). I need more of Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, so that my ways become more like Your ways as I surrender more of my will to more of Your will. Then the words that proceed from my mouth will flow out of a heart more wholly surrendered to You.
 
You said Your words are "spirit and life" (John 6:63). As You make me more like You each day, let my words be the same -- for as You are, so am I to be in my world (1 John 4:17; Romans 8:29). By the power of Your grace at work within me, "Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14 NKJV). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My Friend, may you speak words of spirit and life and truth because the One who is Spirit and Life and Truth lives in you, forming the nature of your heart into the nature of His heart more and more every day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  


My Latest Book!
I'm excited we've recently published an updated version to my book Free to Be Like Jesus! -- Transforming Power of Inner Healing & Deliverance endorsed by Max Lucado, Andy Reese, and Randy Clark.

  

   
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, July 30, 2019

Morning by Morning, July 30 - Seeing the Father in the Eyes of Jesus
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today. ...
 
"Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know Me? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? ... Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me'" (John 14:8-11)
 
Lord Jesus, You have Your Father's eyes. You have Your Father's heart. You and Your Father are One (John 10:30). You are "the exact Imprint of God's very Being" (Hebrews 1:3). You are "the Image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). And in You, "all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Colossians 1:19).
 
Everything You did on this earth was to reveal the Father heart of God. The words You spoke, the things You did, the way You were, all revealed the heart of the invisible God in the flesh -- Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). As You said to Philip, to see You is to see the Father. And You were helping him understand how important it is to know You in order to know the Father when You said to him, "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).
 
My Father God, AbbaFather, I come to You through Jesus Your Son. --the "Son of God" because He perfectly expresses and reveals the nature of God (Mark 1:1; Matthew 16:16). I come to You as I behold Jesus, as I see Your love in His eyes and Your voice in His words. In the mystery of faith and the nature of Your Being, You help my human mind begin to conceive the image of an invisible God by seeing You in the image of Christ. That's part of what it means to come to the Father through Jesus the Son (John 14:6).
 
Father, not only do You invite me to see You in the nature of Jesus, You also invite me to welcome You into my heart by Your Spirit. As You explained to Philip and the disciples through the words of Jesus, "This is the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, because He abides with you, and He will be in you... On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" (John 14:17-20).
 
Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- abide in me as I abide in You (John 15:4). Help me know You more deeply, more fully, more intimately every day in every dimension of Your Being. Along with the Apostle Paul, "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give (me) a spirit of wisdom and revelation as (I) come to know (You), so that, with the eyes of (my) heart enlightened, (I) may know what is the hope to which (You) have called (me)..." (Ephesians 1:17-19). "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, may you see your Heavenly Father in the eyes of Jesus as you come to the Father through Jesus His Son, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

  
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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Monday, July 29, 2019

Morning by Morning, July 29 - The Prayers God Answers Every Time
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. Bring Your words to my heart, as I watch and wait for You and Your leading, here in the communion of prayer. ...
 
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the very Spirt intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26-27).
 
Help me, Holy Spirit. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I humble myself before You to say in my heart I don't know how to pray "according to the will of God." But You do. You know the heart of the Father for me today, for "the saints" today, for everyone You're giving me a burden in my heart to pray for today, for everyone and everything You already know I'll encounter today. 
 
So come, Holy Spirit.  Pray through me according to the will of God. The children of God are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). Come put Your thoughts in my mind, Your desires in my heart, and Your words in my mouth. Use words if You have to. Use "sighs too deep for words" if that would be even better. Keep my own thoughts, my own desires, and my own words out of the way of Your intercession according to the will of God through my prayers. ...
 
As I pray -- as I allow You to pray through me -- the peace and assurance of this promise of Your Word floods my heart:  "This is the boldness we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of Him" (1 John 5:14-15). 
 
Thank You, Lord. Thank You for allowing me to pray the prayers You answer every time. Let it be so -- here on earth as it is in heaven, here in me, and here in everyone and everything for whom I'll be praying for now and throughout the moments of my day by the leading of Your Spirit -- because that's how it is in my Father's heart. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, may you see the answers to your prayers, as you're led to pray by the Spirit of God according to the will of God, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Preaching in Pakistan Praise Report. Friends, thank you so much for all your prayers and support for 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 with an interpreter, a big screen and projector, and follow-up team. We are Praising God for this report and photos from Pastor Fazal from the Saturday Night Meeting:  "Dear Pastor Tommy, I am very sorry for Laptop Problem but Thanks Lord 296 Souls are saved and 85 Persons are healed from different things. Thank you to share Powerful Sermon!"
 
Amen!! Thank you to all my friends who pray for us and support us to make this ministry possible! 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).

My Latest Book!

My Friend, I'm excited we've recently published an updated revision to my book Free to Be Like Jesus! -- Transforming Power of Inner Healing & Deliveranceendorsed by Max Lucado, Andy Reese, and Randy Clark.

 

   
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, July 26, 2019

Morning by Morning, July 26 - The Battle is Shifting!
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek You with all my heart -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- and wait expectantly for Your leading. ...
 
"Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in battle. So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted..." (1 Samuel 14:22-23 NKJV).
 
We're in a war ever day. Every believer is in battle. But our true enemies are not human flesh and blood, even though human flesh and blood in their weaknesses and sinfulness may be used by our enemies. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).
 
And in this war, as we fight every battle in the strength of the Lord and the power of the Spirit, we're not to run and hide in the mountains of fear or passivity or appeasement. We're to charge "hard after them in battle." We're to "take up the whole armor of God" and withstand them, as we enforce the victory of the cross in the mighty name of Jesus" (Ephesians 6:13). We're to run to the sound of the battle! (Nehemiah 4:20) "And the God of peace will crush Satan under (our) feet!" (Romans 16:20)
 
The battle is shifting! Our enemies are on the run! There's still a war to be waged and battles to fight, but the victory is won! Through the Sacrifice of Your Blood at the victory of Your cross, You forever defeated the enemy of our souls, "having disarmed principalities and powers, (You) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it!" (Colossians 2:15)
 
As we agree with Your victory and come into alignment with Your truth, Your truth is marching on! Glory, glory, hallelujah! The Battle Hymn of the Republic is the Battle Hymn of Heaven!
 
Every time we humble ourselves to be desperately dependent on You alone, the battle shifts. Every time we repent of our sins and receive the grace of Your mercy and love, the battle shifts. Every time we embrace the truth and come out of agreement with the lies, the battle shifts. Every time we let go of the past and press on toward the goal of the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ, the battle shifts. Every time we enter Your gates with thanksgiving and come into Your courts with praise, the battle shifts. Every time we come boldly before Your throne of grace, forgiven of our sins and filled with Your Spirit, the battle shifts. Every time we go into the secret place and shut the door to hear what You're saying and see what You're doing so we can go out to obey Your word in the power of Your love, the battle shifts. And every time we pray and proclaim from the place of victory in Christ for Your Kingdom to come and Your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, the battle shifts. These are the mighty "weapons of our warfare!" (2 Corinthians 10:4)
 
As I'm praying right now, the battle is shifting! In my spirit I'm running to the battle to look and see what You have done! 
 
"For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall.... He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, and make my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation.... I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. I have wounded them, so that they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet. For You have armed me with strength for the battle!" (Psalm 18:29-39)
 
The battle is shifting and this war is won! This is the victory I have in Jesus! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My Friend, may you live into the fullness of the victory you have in Jesus, with every battle shifting for you today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
   
Sculpture of The Coming King at the Cross at Kerrville, Texas


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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