Finding “Great and Hidden Things” - Feb 18

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You’re mighty to save, tender to speak, and compassionate to care.  …

“The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah …. Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is His name:  Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:1-4).

You want me to seek You, to call to You, to ask of You, to depend on You. It’s part of the personal relationship You invite me to develop with You. When I search for You with all my heart, that’s when I find You. As You’ve said in Your Word, “When you call upon Me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me” (v. 29:12-14).

Of course, I don’t search for You because You are lost. I search for You because You’re always drawing me to a deeper relationship with You. There’s always more—more intimacy, more sensitivity, more accuracy. And You’ve not hidden from me because You don’t want to be found. You’ve hidden from me because Your relationship with me is a journey, not just a destination. It’s an adventure, not just an encounter. It’s a moment by moment anticipation of what comes next, not just a memory of the moments that have happened long ago.

And on the journey of this adventure, You’ve purposefully hidden things from me—truths about Your world, Your nature, and myself, that I don’t yet know, but that You want me to discover. It’s like playing hide-and-seek and I’m “it.” It’s like playing peek-a-boo and You’re the face that’s always watching, even when I think You’re not, ready to answer when I call, “I see you.”

These hidden treasures are nuggets of gold—the gold of the glory of Your Presence, the gold of the wisdom You’ve stored up for the righteous, the gold of the spiritual truths that allow my life to align with Your will and Your ways so that all will be well with my soul, as I journey with You through the adventures of this world. “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out” (Proverbs 25:2).

Thank You for the joy of adventure. Thank You for making this journey interesting and exciting. Thank You for making me hungry to hear Your voice, to find You when I search for You, to discover the hidden things I did not know. What hidden treasures have You buried for me to find today? What will You speak to me as I listen for voice throughout the moments of my day? I can’t wait to see. I can’t wait to hear. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join our ministry for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ).

“Especially that You may Prophesy” Feb 17

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help listen to hear, then pray what You say, then do what You will. …

“Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy…. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and be encouraged” (1 Corinthians 14:1-31).

How exciting to be among a people hungry to learn the deep things of God. How beautiful to see the Body of Christ seeking to become all You’ve created us to be. This week, I’m thrilled to be one of Your teachers at “The Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry” hosted by Aldersgate Renewal Ministries near Nashville, Tennessee. This second session for the next few days focuses on Your desire and anointing for all Your children to learn to flow in the spiritual gift of prophecy—to hear and express the heart of the Lord for one another.

You call us to “pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts.” Why? Because You love each one of us and You also desire to express Your love for each one of us through one another. The spiritual gifts are a means of Your expression of Your love for us, each with their own purpose. You call us to “especially” strive for the spiritual gift of prophecy. Why? Because You desire us to prophesy the words of Your heart into the hearts of one another, by the leading of Your Spirit for that moment in their life. “Those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (v. 14:3). “He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men” (v. 14:3, NKJV).

So let us not be afraid to hear what You say or to say what we hear. “We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:26, NKJV). So it is with prophecy. We don’t know how to prophesy as we ought, but the same Holy Spirit intercedes for us, knowing the heart of God and then expressing it through us into the heart of another. As Your Word encourages us: “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 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” (1 Peter 4:10-11).

The spiritual gift of prophecy is just another one of the marvelous ways You awaken our souls to sing the song of our lives. Teach us how to humble ourselves to listen and then give us faith to pray what You give us to pray and say what You give us to say into the lives of those You desire encourage and comfort in Your love, with the heart of the Father, the mind of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a beautiful and powerful gift Your Word commands us to pursue and learn how to use as an expression of the power of Your love for each one of us. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep us in prayer, as I teach with the team at the Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry with Aldersgate Renewal Ministries near Nashville, TN the rest of this week ( http://www.aldersgaterenewal.org/ministry-events/arc-events/methodist-school-for-supernatural ). Almost a hundred students from the Methodist stream of the Body of Christ have come form across the country to grow in their spiritual gifts and ministry. Please pray for awakening and revival in this stream and all streams of the Body of Christ until the River of Life flowing freely and mightily through us all as one!

Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries' 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join our ministry for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ).


I was just invited to minister in Africa this summer! Please join with me in prayer for the plans to join with Wesley Paul International Ministries for this Festival Campaign in Kenya in August ( www.wesleypaul.org ). Dr. Wesley Paul has invited me to preach at the pre-festival city revivals, a pastors’ conference, and the main festival, with other settings of healing and deliverance prayer ministry. We need to make provision in my calendar and finances, but I strongly believe the Lord is providing for this. Please let us know if you’d like to be a part of this mission in prayer or financial provision. I’m excited to see what God will do!

To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

“Make Known His Deeds Among the Nations” - Feb 16

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, be Lord of my life and Lord of my day. …

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known His deeds among the nations; proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in Your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 12:3-6).

As I hung up the phone last night, joy began to bubble up and flow out of me like a water fountain. I found myself smiling bigger and broader than I can remember in a long time. With those tears of joy that suddenly rise up and gush out like a flash flood, I couldn’t quit saying, “Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord!” I was actually surprised by the depths of joy flooding my soul.

Why? What made me so happy? It actually wasn’t some personal experience, some extravagant gift, not even some big check in the mail. It was an invitation to go preach and pray and minister the healing love of God in Africa this summer. You’ve sent me to many nations many times. But You’ve never sent me to Africa before. I’ve longed for it and prayed for it, but I’ve also known to wait for it—for it to be in Your time and in Your way. I’ve known not to try to push those doors open myself, but to wait for You to open them wide when You were ready and when You said I was ready. And now, it seems, that day has come!

I’ve been reading the autobiography of Rheinhard Bonnke, and of his humble beginnings but deep passion to see all of Africa saved. And he has seen millions upon millions come to faith in Christ, with mighty displays of Your love and power and glory everywhere You send him. And with every sentence of the book, I’ve yearned to go there and be a part of Your story of turning a continent to the mercy of Your love—“From Cape Town to Cairo, all Africa shall be saved!”

You’ve not diminished my passion for the people of India, Pakistan, Estonia, France, England, Wales, Brazil, the Philippines, Costa Rica,Israel, America and every other place You’ve ever sent me and continue to remind me to pray for the fullness of Your salvation in their lives. But You’ve also been stirring this intensifying, burning passion in my heart for the people of Africa as well.

Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to be part of drawing Your living waters from the wells of Your salvation to offer the nations of the world a deep drink of Your mercy and love. Thank You, Lord, for letting me be a part of Your end-time mandate: “And this Good News of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come!” (Matthew 24:14) In the joy of the Lord, with thanksgiving and praise, I will proclaim Your name and make known Your deeds among the nations of the earth, at home and abroad—and now, by this gift of Your grace to me, Your son, even among the people of the nations of Africa. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please join with me in prayer for the plans to join with Wesley Paul International Ministries for this Festival Campaign in Kenya in August ( www.wesleypaul.org ). Dr. Wesley Paul has invited me to preach at the pre-festival city revivals, a pastors' conference, and the main festival, with other settings of healing and deliverance prayer ministry. We need to make provision in my calendar and finances, but I strongly believe the Lord is providing for this. Please let us know if you'd like to be a part of this mission in prayer or financial provision. I'm excited to see what God will do!

Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join us for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ).

And please keep us in prayer, as I go to teach at the Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry with Aldersgate Renewal Ministries near Nashville, TN the rest of this week ( http://www.aldersgaterenewal.org/ministry-events/arc-events/methodist-school-for-supernatural ). God bless you!

To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Giving from the Heart - Feb 15

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I give You my spirit, soul, and body. I am Yours and You are mine. …

“When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they might invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the cripple, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12-14).

How much of what I do, do I do for what may be done for me? How much of what I give, do I give for what may be given to me? How truly generous am I? How truly selfless am I? And by the same measure, how truly selfish am I—ultimately thinking of myself even when I appear, even to myself, to be thinking of others?

It’s true that I’ll always receive more that what I give. That’s one of Your spiritual laws (Luke 6:38). It’s true that whatever I sow in good soil will always bring back a harvest of more than what I’ve sown. That’s one of Your spiritual laws too (Luke 8:8). But should I give, should I sow, because I know how to work the system? Because I know how to get what I need? Because “them that gives is them that gets?”

It’s what’s in my heart that comes out in my life (Mark 7:21). And I want my giving to come out of my heart. I want my living to come out of my heart. I don’t want to be giving and living for what I think I’m going to get back in this life. So change my heart, O God. Make me a generous, joyful giver. I want to love to give just for the sake of the joy and peace it brings to those to whom You lead me to give—“generous, ready to share, thus storing up for (myself) the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that (I) may talk hold of the life that really is life” (1 Timothy 6:18-19). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please consider coming or sharing the word with someone who may be interested for our next 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join us for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). God bless you!

To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

“The Least of These” - Feb 14

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Light of the World, light my path throughout the moments of my day. …

“And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’ ” (Matthew 25:45).

Who are “the least of these” I will see today? This morning we’ll go out in the country to the Refuge for Women for prayer ministry with a young woman trying to come out of the strip club and sex trade industry, battling with the choice to live. Is she the least?

Some days I go into the city to try to explain our ministry of healing and deliverance, binding up the broken-hearted and setting the captives free to those whose pride won’t allow them to admit they need it to have the righteousness, peace, and joy of the Kingdom of God in their lives You paid by Your blood for them to have. Are they the least?

Some days I go into my own heart and head, struggling to believe I’m truly a son of God, the righteousness of God in Christ, loved by You and favored by You, despite all the brokenness, sins, and failures of my life—and not all of them the distant past. Am I the least?

Whoever the least are, You love them and You are for them. And as we love them, that’s a measure of how we love You. Deliver us from our hardened hearts of judgment. Free us from our prideful attitudes that make us think of ourselves more highly than we ought. Release us from the mindset that makes us think Your mercy and grace is for everyone but us—because they’re the ones who really need it.

Lord, I need it. I need Your mercy and grace. I need Your steadfast love. I need to know You love me and You are for me, no matter what. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far is the east is from the west, so far He removes His transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:8-12). Praise the Lord! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep us in prayer as we join in a closer relationship of ministry with the Refuge for Women ( www.refugeforwomen.org ). And please consider coming or sharing the word with someone who may be interested for our next 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join us for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). God bless you!


To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

See the Scars, the Mark of Authority - Feb 11

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship and adore You; I choose to live my life for You. …



“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39, RSV).



Even after Your resurrection, Your body still showed the scars of Your crucifixion. You were not just a spirit, not just an undefined part united into the larger universe as one with it, not just an idea, an image, a philosophy, or a memory. You were flesh and bones, even in Your resurrected and glorified body. Even today, even in Heaven, even throughout all eternity, Your body bears the scars of Your suffering (Revelation 5:6).



But Your scars are Your badge of honor, the marks of Your suffering for us, the evidence of Your sacrifice of love for us. And Your scars are the mark of Your authority. Because You humbled Yourself to be marked with those wounds, to die on that cross, and bear those scars, our Father has given You “the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).



And so it is with us. As You are, so are we to be in this world (1 John 4:17). In Christ, our scars are to be our marks of authority. Our wounds, now healed through the victory of the cross and the power of the blood of the Lamb, are the places where we have wisdom and compassion and authority in Your name in the lives of those hurting, wounded, and bound around us. In the way You have comforted us, we are to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). In the ways You have freely given to us, we are to freely give to others (Matthew 10:8).



Let me not see You wrongly as a God who has never suffered (Isaiah 53:11). As You humbled Yourself, the Son of God, in human flesh and bones as the Son of Man, even You, as “the pioneer of (our) salvation” were “perfect through suffering” in Your sacrifice of love “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). “For because He Himself has suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who have been tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).



So Lord, use my sufferings, not wasting a moment of them. Use even my temptations and even my sins and failures, no forgiven by the power of the blood of the Lamb, not wasting a moment of them. These are now my scars, to display Your glory. These are now the places in my life where You can express Your authority and the power of Your love in the lives of others—even through my flesh and bones, resurrected into newness of life by Your Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, to the glory of God the Father. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.



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



Please join us for Messiah Ministries’ Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry – Level 1, March 9-12, 2011. This is our 4 day Intensive Course of equipping and empowering for healing prayer ministry. All are welcome; Scholarships are available as needed so all can attend. For more information and on-line registration: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!

To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

“Be Imitators of God” - Feb 10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes unto the hill of Your holy Presence. And there I see Your cross and remember that I’m loved and forgiven, that I’m a son and a saint by the blood of the Lamb. You’re the source of my help and the center of my life. …



“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and give Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 4:30-5:2).



Holy Spirit of God, God in Christ, and Christ in us, by the power of Your love in our hearts, You call us and empower us to “be imitators of God.” You forgive us and call us to forgive one another. You love us and call us to love one another. You put away Your wrath against our sin against You and call us to put away our wrath against the sins of those who have sinned against us.



We’re children of God, growing up to like our Daddy. We’re marked by Your Spirit, sealed by Your love. We’re set on a journey through all the challenges of this world, being conformed into the image of the Son of God, abiding in us, making us more like You each day—if we’ll let You. And as we do, we become as You are—“a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”



By embracing Your Spirit and the power of Your love through the every-day moments of our lives, we are being changed into Your image, revealing Your heart to the world around us. “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). By the power of the grace of God, Lord, let it be so in me this day and every day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.



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



Please join us for Messiah Ministries' Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Level 1, March 9-12, 2011. This is our 4 day Intensive Course of equipping and empowering for healing prayer ministry. All are welcome; Scholarships are available as needed so all can attend. For more information and on-line registration:

www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!


To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Willing to Wait and Listen - Feb 8

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my thoughts and at the foundation of my day. …

“When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet, if You say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break” (Luke 5:4-6).

Simon had already been working all night long. He was weary and discouraged. He was empty-handed from failure, except for the washing his empty nets. But he was willing to allow You into his boat (v. 5:3). He was willing to wait and listen to what You had to say. And then he was willing to let You direct his choices about how to spend his day.

He wanted to go to bed, but You wanted him to go to work. He thought his plans and his ways made the most sense, but in Your wisdom, You knew what was best. He was ready to give up, but You pressed him on a little further. And in the end, he called You “Master,” yielded his will to Your will, his ways to Your ways, and did what You said.

It was a choice that turned his lack into abundance, his failure into success, his discouragement into joy. And it turns out that his simple act of welcoming You into his day, and then doing what You said, changed his life—not only for that day, but for every day for the rest of his life (v. 5:11). And not only Simon Peter’s life, but it changed the lives of his business partners too, James and John (v. 5:10).

Lord Jesus, I welcome You into my boat and into my day. I want to stop what I’m doing, set aside my plans for the moment, and take time to listen to what You have to say. I want You to be my Master, because I trust Your wisdom to know what’s best for my life. I give over to You every feeling of weariness, discouragement, and failure from every disappointing moment and day of my past. And I ask You to fill my nets with Your provision of all I need in the way You choose. Give me the humility and wisdom to trust and obey. Let it be so for me and for all those closest to me. I want my trust and obedience, by the power of the grace You supply, to be life changing and never ending. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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


To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Benjamin Generation - Feb 7

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name is the name above every name. And here in my heart I bow my knees and confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. …

“When they were seated before (Joseph), the firstborn according to the birthright and the youngest according to his youth, the men looked at one another in amazement. Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much of any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him” (Genesis 43:33-34).

In one sense, all the tribes of Israel, from Judah to Benjamin, may speak of all the generations that have gone before us and that will come after us. Judah is first with his birthright, but Benjamin is last with his portion five times greater than any generation before him. And perhaps this speaks of a generation that will be young in our eyes, but mighty in Yours—gifted, anointed, empowered more than any generation as the last generation before the return of Christ.

If so, our part is to pray for them, teach them, help raise them up in the way they should go. We should help them be unhindered by the restrictions and fears, by the mindsets and traditions, by the disappointments and failures of our generations. We should get out of their way in every way You lead, while at the same time finding our way with them together. None can fulfill our calling and destiny apart from the other (Acts 2:17-18). But together we can drink deeply of Your Spirit and rejoice in Your Presence as we labor together in the greatest harvest to come before Your return for Your Bride (Matthew 13:30, 39).

One of my favorite times of our City-wide and Regional Strategic Prayer Summit this past weekend was the fathers’ blessing over the younger generation, Judah blessing Benjamin, and releasing this generation into ministry. Then they began to minister to us. We witnessed signs and wonders of the Spirit of God moving through their hands. We heard several testimonies of immediate freedom from pain as bodies and bones were readjusted by Jesus before our eyes! And what joy in the eyes of the young people, being blessed and anointed by God, released and encouraged in their own ministry in our city and region.

Lord, may the generations after us go farther than we have ever gone, do more than we have ever done, see more than we have ever seen. Pour out Your Spirit in greater measure for greater ministry upon the earth than we have ever known (John 14:12). And may we all be a part of all that You’re doing, as “this Gospel of the Kingdom” is “proclaimed to all the nations” of the earth before the day “the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, thank you for praying for us at our 2011 Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit. It was incredible, as we came together in the bond of unity in the Spirit to seek the face and voice of the Lord together as one Church in our city and region. Together we experienced a measure of the Father's answer to Jesus' prayer, "that they may be one" (John 17:11). I pray the same for you and for your city and region, as we are united as one Body throughout all the earth. "There is one Body and one Spirit, ... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). God bless you!


To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

As One, Let the Walls Come Down! - Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit 2011 - Feb 4

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, You’re the King of this city and the King of my heart. Come rule and reign in this land and throughout the moments of my day. …

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

The sacrament of Holy Communion, celebrating the Lord’s Supper, is a prophetic act by physical means proclaiming a spiritual reality. We eat the bread and drink the cup together in the physical realm, while we proclaim that we are united together as one in the Spirit and one in the Lord in the spiritual realm. Through this means of Your grace, we are one with You, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. What we do with our bodies is a proclamation of what is in our hearts—that despite all the outer divisions and superficial walls, we believe this eternal truth: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as (we) were called to the one hope of (our) calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

As an expression of the City-wide Church here in this city and our region, we will come together tonight and tomorrow physically as one for prayer, praise, and proclamation from the various and diverse streams and traditions of Your Body. But we are mindful that our physical act of just showing up together in the same place at the same time under the same name of Jesus as Lord of this city and region is a powerful spiritual proclamation—“so that through the Church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10).

“Together with Christ” as one with You and one with each other, You raise us up with You and seat us with You in our heavenly position in the place of spiritual intimacy, identity, and authority You’ve entrusted to us as the people of Your Church (Ephesians 2:4-7). Because we are in You and You are in us, we are spiritually, strategically positioned “in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” that would claim any power of darkness over our city and region (Ephesians 1:20-21). And it’s from that place of unity in the Spirit that You command Your blessing—“Life forevermore!” (Psalm 133).

It’s from that heavenly position and place that together we’ll join in deep humility and bold faith for prayer, praise, and proclamation as Your Holy Spirit will lead at our annual City-wide and regional Strategic Prayer Summit. As You have said: “On this rock I will build My Church, and gates of Hell will not prevail against it. I give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19). As You have said: “The God of Peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (Romans 16:20).

Yes, Lord, let it be so, just as You have said—here in our hearts, here in our city and region, here in our generation and throughout all the Earth. Let the walls of division come down! Let the walls of prayer be lifted up! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!

To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Clothed for Battle, Carrying a Message of Hope - Feb 3

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I’m centered in You in the communion of prayer, help me begin my day with the heart of the Father, the mind of Christ, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. …

“But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8).

Let Your helmet cover my mind and my thoughts. Let Your breastplate cover my heart and my desires. Let Your faith, love, and hope guide me and guard me from all that may come against me as I rise and go into the battles of my day.

I put on “the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). I’m clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). Through the mercy and power of Your grace, I am cleansed “in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). And I am “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

Send me now into my day. I know You’ve already gone before me, You’ll go with me, and You’ll be behind me (Matthew 28:20). I am an “ambassador for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). I’m a “soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3). And the hope that we have in the steadfast love of God, revealed in Jesus Christ, embraced by trusting faith in the One who loves us and gave His life for us, is my message (1 John 4:10). That’s my declaration of victory that will carry the day through every battle I’ll face. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!


To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Watchmen on the Wall of the City 24/7 - Feb 2

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I am Yours and You are mine. ..

“I have set watchmen on Your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest until He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7, NKJV).

Throughout our city and across our region, You have set Your watchmen upon the walls. Throughout the watches of the night and the watches of the day, we worship You and welcome You into our hearts and into our land. We look for signs of Your coming and we look for signs of the enemy. We sound the alarm and blow the trumpet of prayer and praise and proclamation that “the King of glory may come in” (Psalm 24:7).

As I write the Scripture “Psalm 24:7” just now, it strikes me that this is a call to 24/7 prayer, praise, and proclamation. It’s a call to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), that keeps welcoming without ceasing the glory of Your Presence in our hearts and in our land. Yet, none of us can do this alone. We need one another. We need many watchmen, taking their positions at many places upon the wall throughout many watches of the night and day. Together, You call us to give You no rest until You establish Your name and Your nature in our city and region.

This coming weekend, You are gathering Your watchmen to come together from the various streams, traditions, and tribes of the Body of Christ from across our city and region for our Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit. Together, we’ll seek Your face, call upon Your name, and welcome Your Presence into our hearts and our land through prayer, praise, and proclamation in the authority of the name of Jesus. In the bond of unity, we believe You’ll pour out the oil of Your Spirit and command Your blessing according to Your Word (Psalm 133).

As Francis Frangipane has said, “It takes a city-wide Church to win a city-wide war.” And this annual gathering that You’ve called our ministry to lead for four years now is an expression of Your city-wide Church that will go to war in worship and praise, in confession and repentance, in proclamation and prayer, in the unity of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). As we lift up the gates of Your righteousness and open up the doors of our hearts, let the King of Glory come in—not only this weekend, but 24/7 until Christ comes again in final victory! (Psalm 24:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!


To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

The Nations in an Uproar - Feb 1

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, free me and fill me in spirit, soul, and body every moment of every day. …



“Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and whoever turns from evil is despoiled. The Lord saw it and it displeased Him that there was not justice. He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so His own arm brought Him victory, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped Himself in fury as in a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay; wrath to His adversaries, requital to His enemies; to the coastlands He will render requital. So those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord, and those in the east, His glory; for He will come like pent-up stream that the wind of the Lord drives on” (Isaiah 59:14-19).



Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, to name a few—the nations are in an uproar, shaken as in a sieve, threshed as wheat and stubble. Truth and justice, righteousness and stability, are drug into the streets and trampled underfoot. And all the people of all the nations from the west and the east look on to see where this will lead and who will prevail. We look at the souls of own nations, with the injustices and hypocrisies of our own lands, and wonder what will become of us as well.



But You are not blind that You cannot see. You are not deaf that You cannot hear. Is there not a remnant who are righteous through the blood of the Lamb, who call on Your name throughout the nations of the earth? You have not left Yourself without a witness among the nations (Acts 14:16-17). And there is a people, who are called by Your name, who can sense Your Spirit calling us to humble ourselves, repent and pray, that You might move in the midst of the turmoil and tumult of these unsteady days and heal these lands (2 Chronicles 7:14).



O Lord, look and see. Listen and hear. Stretch forth Your mighty right arm. Bring victory for Your name’s sake. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before You” (Psalm 89:14). Establish Your righteousness and Your justice in these lands. Let Your steadfast love and faithfulness defeat the darkness and win the day in the nations of the earth and in our own souls. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.



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



To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!

A Prophecy for Egypt - Jan 31

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of the universe and King of my heart, I bow before You, worship and adore You, as I begin my day with You. Let me listen, as I watch and wait for Your word to me to lead me in prayer. …

“An oracle concerning Egypt: See the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble at His Presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, one against the other, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom…. The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstone of its tribes have led Egypt astray…. On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun. On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, He will send them a Savior, and will defend and deliver them. The Lord will make Himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day, and will worship with sacrifices and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will return to the Lord, and He will listen to their supplications and heal them” (Isaiah 19:1-22).

You have a plan and a prophecy for the children of Egypt, just as You have for the children of Israel (Romans 11:26). Maybe the turmoil in the land we see today is a foretaste of the fulfillment of the prophecy to come—that You will both strike Egypt and heal Egypt, that there will be revival and awakening in the land of Egypt, as they turn to You as their Savior and Healer and Deliverer. The City of the Sun shall be a city of our God (Psalm 45:4). And the name of the Son shall be exalted in their land.

I know You are not behind any act of wicked or sinful violence in the riots and responses taking place in the streets of Egypt today. But I also know You are at work in it all, using it all to work together for good. “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live” (Ezekiel 18:32). It seems in these days, You are shaking everything that needs to be shaken, so that what can’t be shaken remains—in Egypt and in every land (Hebrews 12:27). You are ruling and overruling, aligning and realigning, uniting and unifying a people with a Spirit of freedom to willing turn the one, true God who loves them all, “not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Such is Your heart for all people of all lands.

Even amidst the bloody fighting, brutality of oppression, and chaos in the streets, we hear daily reports of the people in the land of Egypt bonding together, standing by one another in their stand for freedom and cry for reformation. You will not waste a moment of their sufferings, nor a drop of blood from their battles. You will not turn Your ears from the voice of their cries. You are at work in their land to bring healing and freedom and salvation. Maybe this is just a foretaste of the fulfillment of Your prophecy over Egypt to come. But even so, we pray for that day You declared through Your prophet Isaiah long ago: “The Lord will make Himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day” (Isaiah 19:21). Yes, Lord. Let it be so, even in our generation, all according Your timing, Your will, and Your way. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, I'm joining with you in prayer for the peace and the people of Egypt, knowing the Prince of Peace holds them all in His heart.


To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!

Words of Spirit and Life - Jan 28

Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Lord and Savior, my Comforter and King, I call on Your name and rest in Your peace. …

“Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

Our words have power. It’s a power You’ve entrusted to us, even as You’ve created us in Your image. But it’s a power that can be used for good or for evil, for building up or for tearing down, for encouragement or discouragement. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). So our words should come from Your heart, for “upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3).

With the words of our mouths, we can bless or curse, bring clarity or confusion, establish trust or engender strife. “How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire…. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so” (James 3:5-10).

Lord, heal the hurts my words have caused. And heal the hurts the words of others have caused to me. Draw out the poison and impart Your peace. Set Your guard over my mouth and over my heart. Let me speak what needs to be said; let me listen to what needs to be heard. But let all be filtered through the cross and the blood of Christ; let all be refined in the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, help me learn to speak only what I hear You speaking. And help me discern to receive only what I hear You speaking through those who would speak to me. Like You, let my words be full of “spirit and life,” even as You allow only Your words of “spirit and life” to take root in me (John 6:63). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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


To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Join with us in the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

The Joy of Death - Jan 27

Good morning, Lord Jesus. More of You and less of me--less of my will apart from Your will, my desires apart from Your desires, my nature apart from Your nature. ...

"I die every day!" (1 Corinthians 15:31)

The Apostle Paul was not afraid of death--neither the physical death that would come one day, nor the death to his "flesh" every day that allowed the life of Your Spirit to be expressed more freely and powerfully through his life with each daily death. By the Spirit of God writing through him, he declared the direction of his life--to "walk walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:4). Like all true disciples of Christ, Paul took to heart Your invitation to choose to life his life for You in Your Spirit: "If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:24-25).

What is it in me that needs to die today? It's never my spirit, because You've created my spirit to soar, to express the essence of who You created me to be. It's always my flesh--my self-centeredness, my selfishness, my holy independence apart from my desperate dependence upon You--that needs to die.

You said your disciples must "take up their cross." We don't take up Your cross. You've already done that, forever taking away the bondage to a life bound living in the flesh by the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1). But there is a cross that is our cross. It's the cross of the circumstances, encounters, relationships that You have carefully crafted, or that You will certainly use whether they were crafted by Your hands or not, to put more of my flesh to death today. That's the "living sacrifice" You have in mind for my daily death today (Romans 12:1).

This death is not destroy my joy. Rather, it's only in this death to my flesh that my spirit can truly be free. Your will is to fill my life with Your joy (John 15:11). But it's not joy in the sinfulness and selfishness of my flesh, but joy in the freedom of the life of Your Spirit. Joy is the fruit of Your Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It's only in this death that I can truly be free. It's only in this death, that my spirit can truly soar. And it's only in this death, that I can truly live.

Only as I die daily to my flesh, can I be "alive in Christ" more each day (1 Corinthians 15:22). In that way, put me to death today--as mercifully as You can, while still accomplishing all that You will. And give me the confidence of faith by the life of Your Spirit and the mercy of Your grace to somehow "count it all joy" as it comes! (James 1:2, NKJV) In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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


To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Paths of Righteousness - Jan 26

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I wait for Your Word for me today. …

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3, NKJV).

You are the Good Shepherd. Shepherd my heart this morning in the green pastures of prayer, lead my thoughts beside Your still waters, and send me out into my day upon the paths of righteousness. I shall not want if You’re all I want. As I seek You and Your Kingdom and Your righteousness, all I need will be provided for me—whether directly from the supernatural intervention of Your hand or through the people or means You choice to use to take care of me (Matthew 6:33).

You are the Source of everything good in my life. “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). And I have not righteousness apart from You, yet at the same time, in the mystery of faith, I have “become the righteousness of God in (Christ)” (2 Corinthians 5:21). By the mercy of Your grace, not by anything I’ve done, You have set my heart in right relationship with You.

That’s the path You’ve set before me to walk throughout the moments of my day—not in my power or wisdom, but in Yours alone, which You’re freely imparting to me now. That’s the path You’re preparing for me, as You restore my soul with waters of Your Spirit in this green pasture of my morning prayer. Now as I rise and go, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me (this day and) all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6).

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

Friends, in these critical months, we welcome your prayers and financial support for our team at Messiah Ministries--"Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." All help and encouragement is truly needed and greatly appreciated! Like a missionary of prayer, I raise my own funds to be able to lead our ministry. I would welcome the opportunity to talk with you personally about our vision and calling: TommyHays@aol.com God bless you!

To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

“Because of His Persistence” - Jan 25

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I listen for Your leading, as I wait in the silence before You. …

“And He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and get you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence, he will get up and give him whatever he needs. So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened’ ” (Luke 11:5-10).

There are so many facets to prayer, so many facets to faith. And one of those facets is persistence. Sometimes the answer to our prayers does not come right away. Sometimes it seems You call us to persist—to keep on asking, keep on searching, keep on knocking. And we can be timid or tenacious. We can give in to disappointment or keep pressing through in desperation. I think too often we give up too soon. In zeal for unwavering, expectant faith in prayer, we can forget that it’s “through faith and patience” that we “inherit the promises” of the Kingdom of God (Hebrews 6:12).

I got a phone call last night from my friend in Georgia and the young man we prayed for at the men’s retreat who was in a wheelchair from muscular dystrophy. The night we all prayed for him, his pain went away and he was able to move his knees with greater flexibility. He said he could the Holy Spirit at work in his knees as we prayed. But he didn’t get up that night. Well, he persisted in prayer. And last night, after more healing prayer ministry, he said he jumped up out of that wheelchair! Praise God! They were driving home full of praise and joy!

I don’t know the reasons why all our prayers are not always answered. I don’t know why everyone is not always healed. I don’t know why healing does not always come as soon as we pray the first time, or the second time, or the third. I have much to learn. But I do want to learn and grow, in both faith and patience, not settling for anything less than all You want us to know and to have in this adventurous journey of obedience and faith. Instead of spending my time and energy about complaining and questioning all that it seems You’re not doing, I want to spend my time and energy praising You for all that You are doing. Thank You, Jesus, for this exciting and encouraging report, inspiring me to keep persisting with patience in my prayers of faith, with thanksgiving and joy. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home

Fasting and Praying for Our Cities - Jan 24

Good morning, Lord Jesus. With my body yielded to my soul, my soul yielded to my spirit, and my spirit yielded to Your Holy Spirit, I worship You and watch for You and wait for You. …

“It is zeal for Your house that has consumed me…. I humbled my soul with fasting…. But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of Your steadfast love, answer me” (Psalm 69:9-13).

In preparation for our city-wide, regional Strategic Prayer Summit coming up in two weeks, many are joining together to fast and pray this week. Something about fasting allows the mind, will, and emotions of our soul to yield to our spirit, as our human spirit draws deeply into communion with Your Holy Spirit. Something about fasting, seems to enhance the crucifixion of our flesh and the life of our spirit. As we humble ourselves in Your sight, You lift us high into Your Presence (James 4:10).

Fasting is not magic or manipulation of the will of God. It’s a means of humility, a means of expressing our deliberate choice of desperate dependence upon You. It’s a means You choose to use to build our faith, strengthen our spiritual authority, realign our priorities and perspectives, as we choose to die daily to ourselves and arise in the life of Christ (Mark 9:29).

Fasting is a means of Your grace to draw us more deeply in declaration of the reality of our relationship with You: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is not longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:19-20).

As we fast and pray in our city and region, O Lord, hear our prayer, hear the cry of our hearts. Let zeal and passion for You and Your Kingdom to be established in our hearts and our land consume us. Awaken us from our complacency and unite us in our purpose to express Your love and reveal Your nature to the lost and broken You’ve called us to love and to serve as ambassadors in Your name. Let the enemy of our souls and the soul of our cities, who seeks to steal and kill and destroy, be crushed under our feet, as our feet stand in Yours (Romans 16:20).

As we humble our souls in fasting and prayer, let our spirits arise in worship and praise. “Let heaven and earth praise (You), the seas and everything that moves in them. For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and His servants shall live there and possess it; the children of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall live in it” (Psalm 69:34-36).

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

Friends, please keep us in prayer the weekend of February 4-5, 2011 for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit - "Let the Walls Come Down!" Our ministry will be leading this gathering again, hosted this year with Pastor Richard Gaines at Consolidated Baptist Church on the northwest side of Lexington, Kentucky ( http://www.consolidatedbaptist.org ). We'll be joining together in unity from the various streams and traditions of the diverse Body of Christ in our region for prayer, praise, and proclamation as week the Lord's word and vision for the coming year in this place where He has assigned us. If you're in our region, please come and spread the word--it will be Friday night, Saturday and Saturday night. A flyer with tentative schedule is attached. May the Lord move in the power of His Presence for revival and awakening in your city and region, as well as ours! God bless you!

To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

“Listen to His Voice” - Jan 21

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let me begin this day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. …



“O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. O that today you would listen to His voice!” (Psalm 95:6-7)



Even under the old covenant, Your sheep could hear Your voice. And now, in the fullness of time, fulfilled in Christ, we have an even “better covenant” with even “better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). And in Your fulfillment of all the covenant requirements and all the covenant promises, You said, “I Am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me … and they will listen to My voice” (John 10:14-16).



We can hear You. You’ve created us with the capacity to hear the voice of God. But we have to choose to listen. Lord, help me listen. Help me learn how to get quiet, to consciously humble myself in Your Presence, to watch and wait for the leading of Your Spirit. Remove every barrier, overcome every obstacle, draw me to You and away from every distraction. I know You can speak to me anytime, whether I’m listening or not. But I also know You want to teach me how to pray, how to listen for the still, small voice that says, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).



I thank You for the diverse ways You speak to me and allow me to hear You now. But I want more. I want to hear You more clearly, more distinctly, more accurately and precisely. I want to be more attune and more in tune with the leading of Your Spirit throughout the moments of my day. And then give me the courage and confidence to trust You and obey You. What could be more important? What could be more wonderful? “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Romans 8:14). I am Your child, a son of God. And I ask You to enable me, empower me to be led by Your Spirit as I listen to Your voice. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.



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



Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! January 21st, our Messiah Ministries’ monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship, hosted in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. This month will also be a Pre-Summit Gathering of worship and prayer for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit coming up soon the weekend of February 4-5, hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. All are welcome. Please come join us and spread the word!

To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give in Support of the calling of God through Messiah Ministries: www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute