Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Things to Know at "The Time of the End" - Morning by Morning, April 28, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 28 - Things to Know at "The Time of the End"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Looking to You, I listen for Your leading to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
 
"At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first come into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contemp. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase" (Daniel 12:1-4).
 
Lord, we don't know just how close we are to "the time of the end." But we do know we see "a time of anguish" and a time where it seems like "evil shall increase." We do know it's a time when we need our Great Protector, our Great Savior, the only One who can "deliver (our) people" to arise in our hearts and in the earth as the King of King and Lord of Lords, sending Your Word and Your Spirit, Your angels and archangels and the hosts of heaven to join with us in the epic spiritual battles of these days.
 
We do know we want our names to be "written in the book" -- written on the palms of Your hands and sealed in center of Your heart. We do know we want to be among those who are "wise," who "shine like the brightness of the sky," who shine "like the stars forever and ever."  And we do know we want to be found faithful through these times to be among those "who lead many to righteousness" -- for You are our Righteousness and You are the only One who can set things right in our hearts and in our world.
 
There's a lot we don't know in these days. That's why many are "running back and forth." But there are many things we do know. And these are the things that must be at the center of our lives to get us through these days. 
 
Show us these things. Strengthen these things. These are the things that cannot be shaken. These are the things that will remain when all else fails. These are things like our salvation by grace through faith in You, being grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit, humbling ourselves from all our pride to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone, drawing near to You in deeply abiding personal intimacy with You in every dimension of Your Being as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, trusting and obeying and becoming more like You every day as we learn to love and receive Your love and express Your love in our world.
 
Show us, strengthen us, awaken us and empower us, to stand firm in You through these days, to learn all Your teaching us in these days. These may be the days where You're beginning to reveal the secrets and open the seals of the book. These may be the days where we are honored to be called and chosen to be alive, to awaken and arise and shine for just such a time as this! Lord God, let us not miss our part in these days! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you be found faithful through these days, secure in the One you need to know to arise and shine as one of His wise and bright ones, leading many to righteousness, leading many to the Righteous One, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out ...
Preparing the Way of the Lord
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Monday, April 27, 2020

Freedom to be Real and Raw in our Prayers - Morning by Morning, April 27, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 27 - Freedom to be Real and Raw in our Prayers
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I humble my heart so I can hear Yours -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
In days that can feel a little bit like these days, the Psalmist cried out to You in frustration and hurt from his feelings of isolation and judgment: "You have taken from me my closest friends.... I am confined and cannot escape!" (Psalm 88:8 NLT)
 
Sounds like he was in a season of social-distancing, under quarantine, and sheltered-in-place. Sounds like he was feeling more like a victim than victorious, more like being overcome and being an overcomer, defeated and not determined, more like being beneath and not above, the tail and not the head. Sounds like it felt like his world was upside down, out of his hands and out of control. So in the honesty of prayer, he just needed some time to get these words out of his mouth so he could get them out of his spirit.
 
He speaks of feeling "helpless and desperate" (v. 15), "overwhelmed" (v. 16), "paralyzed" by "terrors" (v. 16), "engulfed" by "floodwaters" (v. 17) like "wave after wave" (v.7). He speaks of his questions that don't seem to be answered and his prayers that don't seem to be heard (v. 9). He questions Your wisdom and motives (v. 10). He even finishes his prayer with the mournful expression, "Darkness is my closest friend" (v. 18).
 
If there was ever a place in the Bible that gave us permission to be real and raw in our prayers, to be unflinchingly honest with all our our feelings and frustrations, all our hurts and disappointed hopes and dealings with despair, surely this is it! 
 
But what frees him to be so honest with You, so freely expressive in his prayers of lament and cries of injustice and railings against all that seems wrong in his world, is the simple truth sealed in his heart at the very beginning of his prayer:  "O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to You by day. I come to You at night" (v. 1).
 
You're not the God of our destruction. You're the God of our salvation. You're not a god who is distant, blind, and uncaring. You're the God who invites us to cry out to You by day and come to You by night. You're not a god who gets offended by our questions and retaliates against our honest expression of raw emotions and deep frustrations. You're the God helps us get it up and get it out and so we can give it over to You.
 
With all that's going on in our world and all that's going on in our hearts, You're the God who is with us and the God who will get us through this. Thank You for the freedom to express our frustrations along the way. And thank You for the grace we don't have to get stuck in that place, but we can openly and honestly give it all to You. We can get it up and get it out and give it all to You -- "O Lord, God of (our) salvation!" In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you be free to be real and raw in all your prayers and all you're feeling from all we're going through in our world right now -- getting it up and getting it out and giving it all to the God of our salvation, in Jesus' name. And my you let Him replace all that with His simple truth and assurance of His Presence sealed in your heart. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out ...
Preparing the Way of the Lord
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Friday, April 24, 2020

Honoring Moses, Arising as Joshua - Morning by Morning, April 24, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 24 - Honoring Moses, Arising as Joshua
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You in my heart and every moment of my day. Now I ask You to lead me as I pray -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: 'Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them; and you will put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed'" (Deuteronomy 31:7-8).
 
Father, we thank You for the past generations of faithful leaders and faithful followers of Jesus. We thank You for all they have done, all by the power of Your grace and the guidance of Your Holy Spirit to establish and build the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ and extend the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. We honor our fathers and mothers in the faith. And we honor their faith in You. As Your Word says, "Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12 and Ephesians 6:2-3).
 
And now it's time to move on. Now it's time to press in. Now it's time to advance and possess the "land" that You have set before us in our generation. It's time to look and see what You are doing in our day. It's time to receive Your anointing as Your faithful leaders and faithful followers of Jesus. It's time to embrace Your commissioning to go forward in the ways of Your will, in the guidance of Your Spirit, and all in the power of Your grace.
 
"A new day will dawn on us from above because our God is loving and merciful. He will give light to those who live in the dark and in death's shadow. He will guide us into the way of peace" (Luke 1:78-79). "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19).
 
Like the army of the dawn, may we arise and advance, "strong and bold," knowing You are with us, knowing You will lead us, knowing You are within us by the presence and power of Your Spirit. You will not fail us or forsake us. You will lead us to possess all You've purposed to fulfill in Your heart for our generation. 
 
Holy Spirit of the Living God, cast away our fears and fill us with faith. Deliver us from doubt and clarify our focus. There will always be questions, but You provide the answers. There will always be battles, but You provide the victory. In You, we will not be afraid and we will not be dismayed. In You, we will be bold and we will be strong.
 
In preparation for the great advance of Your kingdom, You are making us ready -- more sensitive to the Your Spirit, more grounded in Your Word, more obedient to Your will, more unified in Your truth, more ready to advance and overcome at the command of Your word as the army of the Lord.
 
So as we honor Moses, we arise as Joshua. As we thank You for all You've done in the past, we're excited and expectant to see all You will do now and in the days to come -- in the day of the dawn now set before us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be filled with faith and free of fear, bold and strong in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit -- honoring the generations of the Moses' in your life and now arising as the generation of Joshua -- to arise and advance at the command of the Lord as the army of the dawn, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

      

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out ...
Preparing the Way of the Lord
  
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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Thursday, April 23, 2020

"Jesus" -- A Simple and Powerful Prayer - Morning by Morning, April 23, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 23 - "Jesus" -- A Simple and Powerful Prayer
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I begin this day "looking to Jesus" -- "the Author and Finisher of (my) faith" (Hebrews 12:2). ...
 
As I begin my prayer this morning, this simple prayer is rising up in my heart -- "Jesus." 
 
This simple name, but powerful name, that is above every name is rising up in my heart -- "Jesus."
 
The Word of God that comes to mind is this: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13).
 
To be "saved" is to have eternal life in You. But to be "saved" is also to have the fullness of Your life in us now. I've taught many times of all the Scriptures that speak of the fullness of Your salvation in every area of our lives through the power of Your name -- eternal life, healing, deliverance, freedom from all that would hold us back from being all we're created to be, released from every burden that would weigh us down, forgiveness of every sin that entangle us and trip us up. But this morning, I don't sense the desire to teach or to preach as much as I desire to simply pray Your name over everything in my life and my world -- "Jesus." ...
 
For the global pandemic of this virus and all its destruction to our global health and global economy, I pray -- "Jesus."
 
For the need for Godly wisdom for all our leaders and everyone making critical decisions that affect their lives and the lives of others, I pray -- "Jesus."
 
For the need of world-wide repentance and return, of world-wide surrender and trust, of world-wide revival and awakening, through the only One who is the Answer to all our questions, the Source of all our needs, and the Savior of all our world, I pray -- "Jesus."
 
For every personal need that I have and for those entrusted to my care, for forgiveness of our sins, for healing of our wounds, for freedom from our bondage, for overcoming of our fears, for clarity of our thoughts, for purity of our hearts, for transformation of souls and every area of our lives, I pray -- "Jesus."
 
I pray Your name. I speak Your name. I call on Your name. "Jesus."
 
For Yours is "the name that is above every name" (Philippians 2:9). "For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13).
 
So I Join with all those who humble their hearts and bow their knees to turn to You and call on Your name in this simple and powerful prayer -- "Jesus."
 
It's my prayer and my proclamation -- "Jesus." Around the world and in every area of our lives, let it be our prayer and our proclamation together  -- "Jesus." For there is power in the name of Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you be filled a deep peace as you pray the name of Jesus, as you speak out and proclaim the name of Jesus over all that's on your heart and come to you mind in agreement with me and will who call on His name, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

     

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out ...
Preparing the Way of the Lord
  
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, April 22, 2020

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!

    

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out ...
Preparing the Way of the Lord
  
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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