Wave after Wave of Glory!" - Morning by Morning, April 22

Morning by Morning, April 22 - "Wave after Wave of Glory!"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, filled with Your Holy Spirit -- I seek You and seek Your leading to begin my day in deep communion with You. ...

 

"For the waves of death encompassed me,

the torrents of perdition assailed me; 

the cords of Sheol entangled me,

the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the Lord; 

to my God I called.

From His temple He heard my voice,

and my cry came to His ears" 

(2 Samuel 22:5-7).

 

We've been hearing now about this world-wide plague possibly coming in waves. It makes me think of a relentless army coming ashore in wave after wave of attack. But what You immediately bring up from my spirit and into mind is "wave after wave of glory." The glory of Your manifest Presence -- with us and within us -- that gives us the wisdom and the power to withstand every wave that would come against us.

 

In humility, we admit we cannot overcome in our own wisdom and power and confess we need Yours. In desperation and distress, we cry out to You, we call upon the Lord. In faith, we believe You hear the voice of our cries, You see the desperation of our needs. And in thanksgiving and praise, even before we see it made manifest with our physical eyes what we're believing with our spiritual eyes, we declare as the voice of the redeemed that "wave after wave of glory" will defeat this enemy and even cover the earth. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!" (Psalm 107:2) For the Promise of Your Word will come to pass: "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14).

 

You responded with wisdom and power for David when He cried out to You in his distress, as he faced the waves of destruction. And we thank You now that You are responding with wisdom and power as we cry out to You in our day:

 

Then the earth reeled and rocked;
    the foundations of the heavens trembled
    and quaked, because He was angry.
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
    and devouring fire from His mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from Him.
He bowed the heavens, and came down;
    thick darkness was under His feet.
He rode on a cherub, and flew;
    He was seen upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness around Him a canopy,
    thick clouds, a gathering of water.
Out of the brightness before Him
    coals of fire flamed forth.
The Lord thundered from heaven;
    the Most High uttered His voice.
He sent out arrows, and scattered them
    -lightning, and routed them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
    the foundations of the world were laid bare
at the rebuke of the Lord,
    at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

He reached from on high, He took me,
    He drew me out of mighty waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
    from those who hated me;
    for they were too mighty for me.
They came upon me in the day of my calamity,
    but the Lord was my stay.
He brought me out into a broad place;
    He delivered me, because He delighted in me"

(2 Samuel 22:8-20).

 

Deliver us, Lord! Draw us up out of the mighty waters of this strong enemy of destruction, too mighty for humanity to handle in our wisdom and power! Send Your waves of glory, "wave after wave of glory" to fill our heart and fill the earth with a great awareness of Your Presence, with all the wisdom and power we need to overcome. And we thank You now that You will even turn it all around into a world-wide repentance to see a world-wide salvation like the world has never seen! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be filled with God's Holy Spirit, with wave after wave of the glory of His manifest Presence, trusting Him to give the wisdom and power we need in our world to overcome and even see the great salvation of the Lord in our day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

    

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Chosen for These Days! - Morning by Morning, April 21, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 21 - Chosen for These Days!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in mind and Your desires in my heart to lead me to walk in Your ways today -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

 

"But now hear, O Jacob My servant, Israel whom I have chosen! Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you in the womb and will help you: Do not fear, O Jacob My servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit upon your descendants, and My blessings on your offspring. They shall spring up like a green tamarisk, like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, 'I am the Lord's,' another will be called by the name of Jacob, yet another will write on the hand, 'The Lord's,' and adopt the name of Israel" (Isaiah 44:1-5).

 

Even when it's dry, You lift our eyes to see the time to come when new life will "spring up." Even when we're thirsty, You fill our hearts with hope of the living water that will flow again like rushing streams across our land.

 

There's no need to fear, for we are chosen. There's no need to give in to worry or fret about what will happen, for we were formed in our mother's womb to be alive and on the earth for just such a time as this.

 

Even when we're concerned for our children -- for their well-being, for their physical and emotional and mental and spiritual health through such unprecedented times and whatever times are to come -- there's no need to lose our peace or lose our hope, for You have said You will pour out  Your Spirit and Your blessings upon them. All in Your time, all in Your way, Your heart is to take everything they are going through to turn their hearts to You. "And we believe they will say, "I am the Lord's." You'll call them by name and they will find their identity in You as children of God. "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

 

Father, thank You for allowing me to be alive in these days. Thank You for choosing me to be one of those who will have the opportunity to love You and serve You and glorify You with my life and the lives of my children through these unprecedented days. You'll provide all the grace and guidance I need, for Your grace is always sufficient for me and Your power is even made perfect in my weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).

 

Holy Spirit of the Living God, fill me up with Your Living Waters. Give me grace to keep looking up, to keep looking forward, to all You are doing in me and in my world in these days. "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be (ours) made careful search and inquiry.... It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but (us), in regard to the things that have now been announced to (us) through those who brought (us) good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven -- things into which angels long to look!" (1 Peter 1:10-12).

 

Praise You, Lord Jesus! It's an honor to be chosen to be alive in these days! With You in our hearts, may Your name be exalted in our world. With every soul that is saved, with every life that is changed, may You receive Your reward for all You've done for all of us! May we be astonished by the magnitude of Your grace in our days in fulfillment of Your promises and Your heart for our world for all who will turn to You. "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with (us), not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be filled with joy and hope and excited anticipation of all the Lord will do in us and our world in these days He chose in His sovereignty and love for us to be alive and make a difference in Him, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

   

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

"Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So!" as We Pray and as We Say - Morning by Morning, April 20, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 20 -- "Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So!" as We Pray and as We Say

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I begin my day, I take some time to come away with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

for His steadfast love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

those He redeemed from trouble

and gathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south" 

(Psalm 107:1-3).

Lord, You are good. And Your love does endure forever. Whatever we face, You are still good. Whatever we go through, Your love still endures -- forever through whatever.

But as Your redeemed, as those You've "redeemed from trouble," as those You've "gathered in" from wherever we've been lost or scattered, at our wits' end or at the ends of the earth, You call us to "say so." Not just think so in our minds. Not just silently pray so in our hearts -- but "say so" with our mouths.

Our words have power. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21). Out of our mouths can come words of blessing or words of cursing, but You call us to use our words to bless and not curse what You desire to bring forth (James 3:10). When our tongues and our hearts are sanctified by Your Spirit, when we have the mind of Christ, when we speak with heart of our Father, then our words are like Your words -- "they are spirit and they are life" (John 6:3). Then Your words, spoken through our words, change the atmosphere around us.

Come, Holy Spirit. Sanctify our tongues. Anoint us and empower us to "say so." Heavenly Father, teach us how to take our authority in Christ -- as the body of Christ, filled with the Spirit of Christ -- submitted to the will of our Father to speak the words You give us to speak with the responsibility You've entrusted to us (John 12:49). Lord Jesus, You are the Word made Flesh, come express Your Word through our words and our Father's will through what we speak in the authority of Your name (John 1:14). "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!" 

Lord Jesus, You taught us to pray and to say. You said in Your Word, "Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:22-24). "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!"

Yes, Lord. That's not some kind of control or manipulations of spiritual principles. That's some kind of charismatic witchcraft. When we seek Your heart and seek to speak Your words of spirit and life from the place of intimacy with You in the communion of prayer, that's obedience to the Word of God. That's honoring You with our thanks and praise for who You are and what You have done and what You are doing in our world today. That's taking our authority and our responsibility as disciples of Christ and faithful stewards of our world. "The heavens are the Lord's heaven, but the earth He has given to human beings" (Psalm 115:16). "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!"

By the power of Your grace at work within us, by the nature and character of Christ being sanctified within us, we are to speak with authority for what needs to be built up and speak with authority to what needs to come down. By the same Spirit that filled the mouth of Jeremiah "to pluck up and to pull down ... to build and to plant," Your Holy Spirit fills our mouths with Your words to speak words of spirit and life in our world (Jeremiah 1:9-10; Ephesians 5:18). Like You did with Isaiah, take a burning coal from the altar of Heaven and touch our lips to sanctify our words (Isaiah 6:6-7). "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!"

Lord, in Your goodness and in Your steadfast love, we give You thanks and we give You praise. And in our obedience we take our authority and responsibility to be Your good stewards in our world to speak the words we hear You speaking in our hearts and into our world. We are Your "ambassadors" in our world -- "we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20). 

Your Word calls us and commands us, commissions us and empowers us, to take this authority and responsibility, in submission to Your will:  "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; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen!" (1 Peter 4:10-11).

Just has You are teaching us to pray, You are teaching us to say -- with expectant faith, in the authority of Your name, in submission to Your will, in the power of Your words spoken into our world through us. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!" 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 with a sanctified tongue and sanctified heart in your authority and responsibility as a disciple and ambassador of Christ, from a place of deep intimacy in prayer, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Signs of Hope and Recovery through Repentance and Prayer - Morning by Morning, April 17, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 17 - Signs of Hope and Recovery through Repentance and Prayer

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...

 

"Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in" (Isaiah 58:12).

 

These are ancient Words of hope for the nation who turns to You and chooses to walk in Your ways once again. These are prophetic Promises of God for the land who's healed by the hand of God when her people seek Your face and listen for Your voice and obey Your will.

 

For a time, the streets of our land have been empty. There have been breaches in the walls of our sense of security and peace. In many ways, we've been shaken to our foundations and much of what we depended upon seem like they've been left in ruins.

 

Yet, there are signs of hope and words of encouragement. There's been a National Day of Prayer and endless days of prayer, as Your people who are called by Your name have humbled themselves to seek Your face and pray in repentance as we cry out to You for help (2 Chronicles 7:14).

 

Lord, let us learn the lessons You're teaching. After the shaking, let what remains be of You (Hebrews 12:27). After the sifting, let what is left be of You (Luke 22:31). You are our Foundation, not our personal finances. You are the Repairer of the Breach, not our health care system. You are the Highest Authority in our Land, not our politicians. And You alone are the One who can hear us and heal us and restore us to our calling and destiny in our hearts and in our land.

 

Let us turn to the One who is our Wisdom, our Strength, our Healer, our Deliverer, our Savior. Let Your ways become our ways and Your will become our will, as You hear our prayer and heal our land. As we hear Your Words of hope, as we embrace Your prophetic Promises, let our generation be a generation who learns and returns to the One who is sovereign over all -- the "King of Kings and Lord of Lord" (Revelation 17:14 and 19:16). May we be a nation who seeks You and turns to You in trust and obedience "without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about a the right time -- He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.... To Him be honor and eternal dominion!" (1 Timothy 6:13-16) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, may you be encouraged and filled with faith as you continue to pray for our land, our hearts, and our world to be healed by the hand of God, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Wisdom and Provision - Morning by Morning, April 16, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 16 - Wisdom and Provision

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day here in the deep communion of prayer -- embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...

 

I hear in my heart, "Look to Me for your wisdom and provision." ...

 

Yes, Lord. You are the Source of all I need -- wisdom and provision, to discern what I'm to do and how I'm to rest in what You will do, trusting in You to be working in many ways, whether through me or apart from me or both. Whichever way You work it out, You will be the Way it all gets worked out. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Corinthians 3:5). "My God shall supply all (I) need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).

 

You're bringing to mind the story of Your wisdom and provision for the widow women who lost her husband and then her family faced all the grief of the loss of life and also the fear of economic collapse.

 

"Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, 'Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.' Elisha said to her, 'What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?' She answered, 'Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.' He said, 'Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a few. Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.' So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, 'Bring me another vessel.' But he said to her, 'There are no more.' Then the oil stopped flowing She came and told the man of God, and he said, 'Go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest'" (2 Kings 4:1-7).

 

So many messages of hope leap out at me from Your Word: being honest with our questions about our grief and loss and disappointment, the unfairness of seeming lack of protection for the people of God and servants of God and their families, how the thief comes like a creditor to steal and kill and destroy as he tries to take us into the bondage of slavery to him, the offering our hearts like empty vessels to be filled with the oil of Your Holy Spirit, to go out and engage our neighbors so their empty vessels can be filled with the oil of Your Holy Spirit as well, and of course, Your miraculous provision of all she and her family needed, as they heard and obeyed the word of the Lord.

 

But what strikes me the most this morning is that You gave both Your wisdom and provision as she actively participated in Your plans with what she they had. All of it from You. There was her part and Your part, but You were the Source; and there was nothing she could do apart from You.

 

Also, I see that the miracle began when she and her family were "sheltered-in-place." She was first to "go in, and shut the door behind (her) and (her) children" (v. 4). She was first to offer up own empty vessel and the empty vessels of her family. That's when the oil started to flow. That's when the miracle of provision started to happen. 

 

And then came the next stage of divine strategy for her provision -- to out to the neighbors and bring their empty vessels. All of that took time, all of that unfolded in stages and steps of obedience and trust, with You doing Your part and her family doing their part. But You provided all the wisdom and provision they needed to get them through their crisis.

 

Come Holy Spirit of God, draw us into the deeper place of intimacy and prayer. Lead us in to the Holy of Holies of the Presence of God with the door shut behind us. As You taught, Lord Jesus, "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:6).

 

Father, reward us with Your wisdom and Your provision, as we seek You and listen for the leading of Your Spirit to hear Your wisdom and experience Your provision. Show us when to come in and when to go out. Let us not waste a moment of our time sheltered away from the world and hidden away in You. That's where our hope comes from; that's where our help comes from; that's where our wisdom and provision comes from. "My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth!" (Psalm 121:2)

 

Lord Jesus, You said, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5). And we praise You that we never have to be apart from You! You are with us always (Matthew 28:20). But when we come apart from the world to seek Your face and listen for Your voice, You provide us with Your wisdom and Your provision for all we need -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.

 

As we seek You and receive Your wisdom and provision, let our debts be paid and our hearts be free. Let us come closer to You than ever before. And in its time, let even our neighbors experience that same great outpouring of Your Holy Spirit that Your doing in our hearts as well. Grief of loss and fear of economic collapse will not prevail. You will get us through this crisis. And You will turn it all around to display Your glory in Your unfailing love! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, may you draw nearer to God in deeper intimacy with Him during any crisis you face to receive His wisdom and provision for all you need, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!