"Yet, O Lord, You are Our Father" - May 18

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Here I am, Lord. Teach me, shape me, empower me, send me into this day according to Your will. Let me decrease in my own will, yielding to the increase of Yours. ...

"You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember You in Your ways. But You were angry, and we sinned; because You hid Yourself we transgressed.... There is no one who calls on Your name, or attempts to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand" (Isaiah 64:5-8).

Sometimes we use Your silence as an excuse to sin. Sometimes we allow our disappointments to direct our decisions. Sometimes we let our bad choices led us down the path of more bad choices still-personally, as a nation, and as a people who are prone to wander away from Your will and wallow in our own self-pity, while somehow blaming You. And though it breaks Your heart, You deliver us into our own iniquity, allowing us to endure the consequences of our own choices.

Yet, at the same time, You are our Father. And when we are faithless, You are faithful. When we turn away, You come after us. When we turn inward, You draw us upward. Like a potter with wet clay in Your hands, You use it all to shape us into all You've created us to be-never wasting a moment of our suffering, never wasting even the consequences of our sins, but causing all things to work together for good.

There are some around me, I see going down that wrong path. And it breaks my father heart. Just like I know it breaks Your Father heart when I do the same in my own ways. And everything in me wants to reach out to them, to take hold of them, to awaken them to look up and see You there, to listen up and hear You there, to reach up and embrace You there. And it reminds me to do the same. Because one of the most powerful principles about the mercy and grace of Your Father love is that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).

But You won't force us to call. You won't forces us to cry out. Love has to leave room for the freedom to choose or it's not really love. And You are a Father Who loves us, Who's for us, Who wants the very best for us. But we have to choose to embrace You and Your love for us. If we don't, all the love and mercy and grace that fills Your Father heart can't really help us.

So I call on Your name, O Lord-Yahweh, Jehovah, Yahshua. I call on all the names of Your nature, O Lord-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I call on Your name-Lord God Almighty-for myself and for all those who need to know Your Father love. You are our God and we are Your people. Even when we sin and turn away, that never changes-just like the mercy and grace of a Father's love (Luke 15:11-32).

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

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! May 20th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month. This month, Lisa Baker will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. All are welcome!

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"Awesome Deeds We did not Expect" - May 17

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name is the name above every name (Philippians 2:9). And at Your name, the first word of my morning, I bow down in my heart and confess with my mouth that You are Lord. ...

"O that You would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at Your Presence-as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil-to make Your name known to Your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at Your Presence! When You did awesome deeds that we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your Presence. From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, Who works for those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 64:1-4).

Your light breaks through the darkness. Your voice calms the storm. Your promises are yes and amen. Your steadfast love endures forever. But it's in Your Presence that nations tremble. It's in Your Presence that the mountains quake. And it's in Your Presence, revealed in the presence of our adversaries-our fights and frustrations, our fears and failures-that You make known Your name.

You know every battle going on in the world-all the extreme conditions of weather and war, of worry and weariness, and of all the ways our world is crying for help in the face of overwhelming waves we are powerless to withstand in our own wisdom and will. But You are God. And You are good. Your Presence is with us. Your promises are for us. And Your power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

O Lord God Almighty. I call on Your name-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I look up to You-Creator of Heaven and Earth. I stand on Your promises and welcome Your Presence. Come and breakthrough in my life. Come and breakthrough in the lives of all who humble themselves to call on Your name in this world that needs Your help from on high. Come and do Your great and awesome deeds we did not expect. Surprise us with Your power. Surround us with Your glory. Astound us with Your steadfast love, tender mercies, and amazing grace. You are at work, as we watch and wait for You to move in Your mighty ways (Isaiah 64:4). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

My friend, I'm praying for God to surprise You with His power in your life today, in the name of Jesus. Please pray that for me and for one another today in the agreement of prayer (Matthew 18:19).

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! May 20th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month. This month, Lisa Baker will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. All are welcome!

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Searching Heart and Soul - May 16

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look to You and listen for the leading of Your Spirit, now and throughout the steps of my day. …

“The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord, searching every inmost part” (Proverbs 20:27).

Bring Your Holy Spirit into communion with my human spirit. Abide in me, as I abide in You. Let Your light search my heart and soul, revealing all I need to let go and give over to You. …

My heart and soul

Always try and control

All my thoughts and desires

Until I’m sick and tired

Of living my life in my own wisdom and power

But Lord, You know

If I could just let go

I’d have all I need

And I would be freed

To live my life in You

Yes, Lord. Thank You for this new song You’re writing in my spirit to express the cry of my heart. I need You to keep changing my heart, more and more every day. I want to think more like You, desire more like You, be more like You.

You’re conforming me into Your image (Romans 8:29). You’re transforming me by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2). And I know I have far to go and get frustrated often along the way. I’m sure that even in the goodness and greatness of Your perfection, You must get a little frustrated with me too, every now and then (Genesis 6:6).

But You are always with me— encouraging me, correcting me, molding and shaping me, guiding and directing me. I’ve come to know it’s a journey and a process—a daily journey and a life-long process. And though it’s already done in heaven, I want it also to be done here on earth, here in my everyday thoughts and everyday desires, on earth as it is in heaven. I don’t want to just believe it by faith in theory, I also want to live it by faith in reality.

One day, it will be all well and good when it’s all been said and done. But as best as I can and all by Your grace, I want to do it and say it well and good now, to honor You in these days You’ve given me to grow up into maturity on my journey through this world. Lord, help me. And I know, Lord, that You do—more than I’ll ever know. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

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Graduation with Wisdom and Understanding - May 12

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—I worship You in spirit, soul, and body. …



“But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Mortals do not know the way to it, and it is not found in the way of the living… Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air. Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’ God understands the way to it, and He knows its place. For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens…. And He said to humankind, ‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:12-28).



At twenty-two years of age, my firstborn child, Elizabeth, graduates from college in the morning. We’re all very proud of her. And we’re all excited for her on this milestone of great achievement in the journey of her education. We all join with her in praises to You for the provision and guidance all along the way.



You given her a passion for helping people, especially young people; and she’s pursuing her education to become a school psychologist. You’ve already opened the doors for the next season of graduate studies to fulfill her dream. And I pray You keep putting Your thoughts in her mind and Your desires in her heart, to fulfill the exciting plans You have for her (Jeremiah 29:11).



But most of all, I thank You that she knows You. I thank You that though her faith has been tried and tested in many ways through the years of her public education, Your Holy Spirit has also privately educated her in the ways of the Lord. As You continue to establish her credentials to have a voice into the lives she’ll counsel in the public world, may You also continue to establish her faith and strengthen her spirit to always hear Your voice in her own life. May that be the true source of the wisdom she finds and the understanding she shares in her ministry of encouragement and hope. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.



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


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Pursuit from a Pure Heart - May 11

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I call on Your name and listen for Your voice. …



“Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).



Shun the one and pursue the other. Turn away from the desires of the flesh and turn toward the desires of the Spirit. Focus on what matters. Hold fast to what lasts. Don’t sacrifice the blessings and fulfillment of a lifetime for the pleasures of a moment. Live strong from a pure heart.



Let righteousness, faith, love, and peace be the marks of a life lived well—only by a life consumed with Your Spirit, cleansed by Your blood, and filled with Your grace. “As it is written, ‘There is no one who is righteous, not even one,’” so we all have need of Your mercy and grace, forgiveness and refocus, every moment of every day (Romans 8:10). Thank You that we have it, because we always need it. We’d be liars if we said we didn’t.



But we can pursue with the passion of a pure heart all that’s in Your heart for us, without ever feeling condemned or hypocritical if we falter or fail, because Your mercies are new every morning. “But this I call to mind, and therefore have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:21-25).



Morning by Morning, moment by moment, I will seek You, I will pursue You. And I will thank You for first pursuing me. I praise You for catching me, embracing me, and never letting me go—even when I deserve it most. Great is Your faithfulness. Amazing is Your grace. Overwhelming is Your love. No wonder I want to pursue You so. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.



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



Join us May 18-21, 2011 for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Level 2. Equipping, Training, and Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry in Lexington, Kentucky. I'll be leading our 4 Day School, along with some of our other teachers with Messiah Ministries. It's always an exciting and life-changing adventure! Those who've been to Level 1 or have watched the DVD's from Level 1 are all welcome to come. Details and On-Line Registration at www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar

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“Pursue Righteousness, but Live under Grace!” - May 9

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my life and every moment of my day. …

“But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:11-12).

On my journey through many places and homes in south Texas and the Hill Country last week, with old friends and new ones, in ministry and in fellowship, I had many chances to share my hope and faith, making the good confession of Your mercy, power, and love in my life. Others poured into me and I poured into them. It’s in relationships that we take hold of eternal life. And it’s in living every moment and opportunity as it comes that we realize that eternity doesn’t just begin one day when we get to heaven—we’re also living in our eternity now.

So in more ways than one, the everyday choices we make every day determine the destiny of our eternal life. We’re living it now in the everyday moments of every day. Today is the day to pursue righteousness and all the good things of God. Today is the day to fight the good fight of the faith. Today is the day to take hold of eternal life. We are to passionately pursue it. We are to passionately pursue You. It’s only as we pursue life, rather than passively taking it as it comes, that we find the fullness and fulfillment of all You have for us. “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor” (Proverbs 21:21).

But in our pursuit, there is much grace. You know before we begin each day as it comes, we will not always make the right choices we should that our pursuit of righteousness desires. And even those sins and failures, mistakes and missteps—given over to You to be cleansed by Your blood, revealing Your heart of mercy and love—become part of the experience and expression of our eternal life as well. From beginning to end and all along the way, You’re with us in the pursuit and covering us with Your grace.

So I loved the parting words of encouragement from my great friend Tammy, as I left their home to go on my way, “Pursue righteousness, but live under grace!” That’s how we “fight the good fight of the faith.” That’s how we “take hold of eternal life.” And as best as I can and all by Your grace, that’s how I will today. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Join us May 18-21, 2011 for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Level 2. Equipping, Training, and Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry in Lexington, Kentucky. I'll be leading our 4 Day School, along with some of our other teachers with Messiah Ministries. It's always an exciting and life-changing adventure! Those who've been to Level 1 or have watched the DVD's from Level 1 are all welcome to come. Details and On-Line Registration at www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar

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It’s All Good in God’s Hands - May 6

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Centered in Christ, Embraced by the Father, filled with the Holy Spirit—help me start and finish and live out the moments of this day securely established in the certainty of Your love for me and Your Presence with me. …

“What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He Who did not withhold His only Son, but gave Him up for us all, will He not with Him also give us everything else? … Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:31-39).

I can be fearless in faith, because I’m more than a conqueror in You. I can be humble of heart, because I’m secure in Your love. I can be free to be all You’ve created me to be—not bound by my past, not limited by my weaknesses, not hindered by my uncertainties—because my life is in Your hands.

So every challenge is an opportunity to grow, every failure is a chance to learn. As I seek Your face, You’ve got my back. As I entrust every moment of every day into Your care and Your power to redeem all things for Your good by Your grace, I can’t lose. In the sense of Your amazing grace, it’s all good. It may not always be pretty. It may not always be according to my plans. But entrusted to God, it’s all good because all in Your hands. Wow, what a peace and relief to live my life in that freedom! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Join us May 18-21, 2011 for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Level 2. Equipping, Training, and Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry in Lexington, Kentucky. I'll be leading our 4 Day School, along with some of our other teachers with Messiah Ministries. It's always an exciting and life-changing adventure! Those who've been to Level 1 or have watched the DVD's from Level 1 are all welcome to come. Details and On-Line Registration at www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar

Friends, please keep us in prayer this weekend, as I minister at small gathering at the country home of my great friends Bill & Patty Luedecke in Bertram, Texas outside of Austin. I've enjoyed lot's of divine appointments and holy encounters with friends and others along the way on my ministry trip in Texas this week. I pray for God's Spirit to be with you wherever you're gathered and wherever you go this weekend as well! God bless you!

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“From There” God Gives Us “More” than Before - May 5

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let Your Word seep into my soul and let Your Spirit arise in my heart, as I begin this day with You. …

“When all these things have happened to you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, if you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, and you and your children obey Him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you. Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. The Lord your God will bring you into the land that your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors” (Deuteronomy 30:1-5).

There is no sin You will not forgive, no failure You will not redeem, no mistake You will not make right—if we will come to the place of humbling ourselves to turn back to You with all our heart and soul. No matter what consequences from our choices come upon us, personally or as a people, Your heart is always to restore and redeem, to provide and prosper.

You long to gather us again from wherever we’ve gone. And by the power of Your grace, in the mystery of Your mercy, You not only replace what was lost, in our generation and in those before us, but You even cause us to increase. You give us “more” than we ever had before, when You bring us back “from there.”

So whether it’s blessings or curses, Your judgment or Your mercy, let all the circumstances of my life, bring me to my knees. It’s “from there” that You will gather me and restore me, forgive me and redeem me, even teach me and empower me with compassion and authority in the lives of others with all I’ve experienced and encountered in the places my choices have driven me and scattered me. It’s true for me personally, and it’s true for us corporately, in our communities and nations as a people. That’ the power of redemption in the mystery of Your mercy for all who will love You and entrust to You our lives for Your purposes (Romans 8:28). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus Tommy Hays

Join us May 18-21, 2011 for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Level 2. Equipping, Training, and Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry in Lexington, Kentucky. I'll be leading our 4 Day School, along with some of our other teachers with Messiah Ministries. It's always an exciting and life-changing adventure! Those who've been to Level 1 or have watched the DVD's from Level 1 are all welcome to come. Details and On-Line Registration at www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar

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An Exceptional Nation - May 4

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, align my spirit, soul, and body with Your purpose, passion, and power for my life this day. …

“If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all His commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field…. The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; He will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord and walk in His ways” (Deuteronomy 28:1-9).

I pray for Israel, I pray for America, I pray for all the nations of the world to turn to You, to seek Your face, to humble themselves, and to pray. Align us with Your blessings, not the curse, with Your protection, not destruction, with Your purposes, not our agendas. Your heart is mercy and blessing for all who call upon Your name. But when we turn away from You and toward ourselves, letting our own thoughts and desires become our god and law, we bring ourselves out from under Your hand of protection and open ourselves to destruction (v. 28:15-68).

And whatever destruction we endure always breaks Your heart, because Your heart is always that mercy would triumph over judgment (James 2:13). As You have said to Israel, so You say to all people of all nations of all generations: “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against Me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live” (Ezekiel 18:31-32).

As best as I can and all by Your grace, on behalf of myself and my nation and as far as Your grace will go, I turn to You and live in You. Give me Your heart and Spirit. Give us Your heart and Spirit. Restore us to the place of Your provision and protection, to Your blessings and benefits, as we turn again our souls to You (Psalm 103:1-5).

Align us, protect us, and empower us for Your purposes and plans for our lives, individually and as a nation (Jeremiah 29:11). This is Your Father heart for each of us—the blessings of God for the children of God (Luke 15:11-32). Blessed is the nation, exceptional is the nation, whose people humble their selves to put their hope and trust in the Lord our God (Psalm 33:12). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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


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True Worshippers - May 3

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I’m on a journey of prayer, an adventure in life, wherever You lead. …

“You shall not plant any tree as a sacred pole beside the altar that you make for the Lord your God; nor shall you set up a stone pillar—things that the Lord your God hates” (Deuteronomy 16:21-22).

It’s not poles and pillars that You desire. It’s not rocks and rituals that honor Your name and move Your heart. You desire obedience more than sacrifice and trusting faith more than performance. You see those who will worship You from the heart and with the choices of our lives. “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seek such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

I want to be one of Your true worshippers. Free me from any false focus upon the forms and performances that would be poor substitutes for loving You with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Let my heart by Your altar; let my life be Your sacrifice. I worship You because I welcome You into the thoughts of my mind and the desires of my heart, because I willingly choose to yield to Your will and trust in Your way, as best as I can and all by Your grace. This is my worship—to be “a living sacrifice” available for You to live in me and live through me (Romans 12:1-2). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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


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True Spiritual Leaders - May 2

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name as my first word today. I watch and wait in the silence of surrender for the leading of Your Spirit as my first decision this morning. …

“For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that He has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia” (1 Thessalonians 1:4-7).

You are our example. You inspire us and encourage us to walk in Your steps, to speak with Your words, and to move in Your power—by the Spirit of Christ moving within us and the Spirit of Christ moving through us (Colossians 1:27). We’re true spiritual leaders only to the degree that we are truly following You.

Lord, I want to be You true follower so I can be Your true leader, whenever and wherever You choose to use my life to help lead others to You. So I know every day must begin and end with You at the center of the thoughts in my mind and the desires in my heart. I need to be sensitive to Your correction, teachable to Your instruction, available to Your prompting. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I want to keep looking to You, beholding You, as You keep changing me into the image of the one You’ve created me to be (2 Corinthians 3:18). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, thank you so much for covering us in prayer at the Pastor's Retreat on Padre Island in South Texas this past weekend with the Corpus Christi District of the United Methodist Church (www.ccdistrictumc.org). It was great time of refreshing and renewing with them, and I was excited to speak with them on the topic of spiritual leadership as coaches in prayer. Please pray for fruit to come in everyone's ministry to encourage, inspire, equip, and empower those the Lord has entrusted to them in their spiritual journeys and ministries of prayer with passion and power. I pray the same for you! Please pray the same for me.


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“In Him, We Live and Move and Have Our Being” - April 29

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me, love me, live in me and through me. I give my life and this day to You. …

“The God Who made the world and everything in it, He Who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor He made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and He allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for Him and find Him—though indeed He is not far from each one of us. For ‘In Him we live and move and have our being…. For we too are His offspring’” (Acts 17:24-28).

I’m a child of God. I’m created by God with life and breath to live and love in relationship with You. And You’re never far from me. You’re always with me. In fact, You’re always within me by Your Spirit who abides in me as I abide in You. You’re constantly speaking to me, constantly leading me, constantly living in me and through me. You are conforming me into Your image so that we may become one, as I live and move and have my being in You alone.

But how often do we tend to see our lives with You so differently? How often do we think so though You live off in heaven somewhere, far and distant from our everyday lives—just listening in on our morning prayers, just looking in on our daily failures, just leaning in to hear our confessions at night before we go to sleep? How often do we act though You live off in a temple or a church building somewhere, waiting for us to enshrine Your memory or pay homage to what You did for some other people long ago and beg us to do it for us again today, but of course, in some much smaller scale than the epics and encounters of “the Bible days”?

Forgive us, Lord. You’re right here with us. You never leave us nor forsake us. Every breath we breathe in is the very breath of God. You know every moment, hear every word, discern every thought. And yet You love us still. Yet You love to live within us and express Yourself through us (1 Peter 4:10-11). You are our Father and we are Your children. You are our Head and we are Your body (1 Corinthians 12:12). Your hands are our hands and Your feet are our feet, as You impart Your heart and pour Your Spirit into ours. “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).

Teach me how to think that way, to live that way. Show me how to live my life as though this were true—because it is. Everywhere I go, so do You. You live in me, You abide in me, and I in You (John 15:4-5). In You, I live and move and have my being. Let the reality of that truth sink into my soul. Let the course of my day reflect my faith in that truth. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, it's always good to make it back home to Texas for a little while. Please keep us in prayer here, as I lead the Clergy Retreat this weekend with 50 pastors and my great friend Eradio Valverde, District Superintendent of the Corpus Christi District of the United Methodist Church in Southwest Texas (www.ccdistrictumc.org ). I've been asked to speak and minister on The Pastor as Prayer Coach and I'm very excited for this incredible opportunity to be an encouragement and blessing to these pastors in their ministries. Thank you for all the ways you cover me and our ministry in prayer to be able to make a difference in the Kingdom of God through our Resurrected Christ at home and abroad!

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“So I Send You” - April 28

Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Lord and my God, my Best Friend, I welcome You into every moment of my day. …



“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.’ When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit…’” (John 20:21-22).



Your resurrection is our resurrection. And the same power that raised You from the dead is the same power at work within us. As we breathe in Your Holy Spirit, we come alive with Your holy nature and You send us forth on Your holy mission. Just as the Father sent You, now You send us. Just as the Holy Spirit anointed and empowered You as the Son of Man for Your ministry of sharing the forgiving, freeing, healing, empowering love of God, now Your Holy Spirit anoints and empowers us to do the same in the authority of Your name.



You’re so much more than an Easter story. Your death, burial, and resurrection is so much more than a historical event from long ago that we retell and celebrate once a year. It’s our model and our way of life, as we take up our cross and follow You to walk in Your steps and continue Your mission of revealing the Father’s heart for the fullness of life to a hurting, broken, and fallen world.



As we die to ourselves, Your Spirit raises us up into newness of life in resurrection power. As the Father sent You, so You send us. How did the Father send You? He anointed You with the Holy Spirit and breathed within You His passion for people and power to set them free from all that would hold them back from being all they were created to be.



Each in our own way—fitting the nature and personality of who we are in Christ, and living in the context of where You’ve strategically positioned us for ministry—You send us forth in the authority of Your name and the power of Your Spirit. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I want to receive the breath of Your Spirit in every breath I breathe. I want to live in the power of Your love and resurrected life, sharing it with everyone You bring across my path, wherever I go. Here I am, Lord, breathe the breath of Your Spirit in me. Here I am, Lord; send me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.



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



Friends, I join with you in prayer for all those experiencing devastation from the tornadoes and floods sweeping our nation during this season of extreme weather at home and abroad. Of course, all of these crisis are also opportunities for us to live and love in the ministry of Jesus' resurrected power to those who need God's help through our hands wherever He sends us by His Spirit.

Please keep us in prayer, as I fly to Texas today to lead the Clergy Retreat this weekend with 42 pastors and my great friend Eradio Valverde, District Superintendent of the Corpus Christi District of the United Methodist Church in Southwest Texas (www.ccdistrictumc.org). I've been asked to speak and minister on The Prayer Ministry of a Pastor and I'm very excited for this incredible opportunity to be an encouragement and blessing to these pastors in their ministries. Thank you for all the ways you cover me and our ministry in prayer to be able to make a difference in the Kingdom of God through our Resurrected Christ at home and abroad!

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Encountering the Resurrected Christ - April 27

Good morning, Lord Jesus. High and holy One, God Most High—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—be One in me; make me one in You, with Your mind and Your heart, throughout the moments of my day. …

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After He said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19-20).

After Your resurrection, Your disciples rejoiced when they saw You. And they knew it was You because of Your scars. Your hands were scarred by the nails of our sins. Your side was scarred by the pierce of a lance that pierced the heart of the mother who gave You birth as Son of Man in human flesh.

You died and they fled. Fear and shame overwhelmed them. And those who saw the very power of God flow through those hands that would be nailed to a cross, were now trembling in the fear of man and the shame of their lack of courage to stand with You in faith. But You didn’t rebuke them or condemn them. You didn’t turn away from them or abandon them. You came to them. And in their fear and shame You spoke to you’re your words of comfort and peace.

In Your peace, they found forgiveness from their sins, deliverance from their fears, and healing from their shame. In their encounter with the Resurrected Christ, their spirits were resurrected into newness of life and fullness of joy. They “rejoiced when they say the Lord”—their Lord, the Lord of all, the Lord Who conquered the grave, defeated hell, and rose again to empower them to live a resurrected life in You. One encounter with the Resurrected Christ changed their lives forever.

Lord, let me encounter You every day. Let me see the scars You eternally bear for me. Let me remember what Your scars mean for me—the forgiveness, deliverance, and healing of resurrected life in Christ every moment of every day. Neither the worries and fears I may face in the present nor the shame and sin of the failures of my past can keep me from rejoicing in the destiny I have in You. You’ve changed my life forever. And I want to carry and share Your resurrected life wherever I am and to whomever You send me—no fear, no shame, just rejoicing in the fullness of joy I have in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, may you be filled with the fullness of joy of the Resurrected Christ living in You!

Please keep us in prayer, as I fly to Texas tomorrow to lead the Clergy Retreat this weekend with 42 pastors and my great friend Eradio Valverde, District Superintendent of he Corpus Christi District of the United Methodist Church in Southwest Texas (www.ccdistrictumc.org). I've been asked to speak and minister on The Prayer Ministry of a Pastor and I'm very excited for this incredible opportunity to be an encouragement and blessing to these pastors in their ministries. Thank you for all the ways you cover me and our ministry in prayer to be able to make a difference in the Kingdom of God through our Resurrected Christ at home and abroad!


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“Jesus Himself Came Near” - April 26

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In You, Lord God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—I live and move and have my being. …

“Now on the same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. And He said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other as you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad.… They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, Who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed Him over to be condemned to death and crucified Him. But we had hoped that He was the One to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since all this took place” (Luke 24:13-21).

How many times do we walk along our journey, discouraged and disappointed because our high hopes have come crashing down? How often does it seem our leaders have betrayed us and the one we thought would be our savior has seemed to abandon us, seemingly unable or unwilling to bring to pass what we’ve desired in our hearts and hoped in prayer?

In those times, our eyes can be so blinded to the truth that You’re right there with us, walking alongside us through all we’re feeling and experiencing. But with deep compassion and concern, You draw us into conversation with You, helping us speak out our pain and put words to our questions to express to You our discouragements and disappointments. You begin to remind us of the truth of Your Word and the faithfulness of Your promises, stirring our hearts to hope again (v. 25-27).

When we take time to open our hearts to You, longing for Your Presence to abide with us, You open our eyes to see we’ve not been alone (v. 28-31). Our hearts begin to burn again with faith and hope and love in the confidence and comfort of knowing You’re always with us, never leaving us nor forsaking us (v. 32). With our passion restored and our focus renewed, we get up and go to share the hope we have in the One Who’s full of resurrection life (v. 33-34). Thank You, Jesus. You are my Savior and the Lord of all. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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


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The Resurrection Side - April 25

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me live with You on the resurrection side of whatever cross I’ll bear. …

“‘Remember how (Jesus) told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must first be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered His words, and returning from the tomb, they told all of this to the eleven and to all the rest” (Luke 24:6-9).

All that You said came to pass. You knew there would be a day of day of great suffering, but also a day of great joy. Beauty would rise from ashes, sorrow would be turned to dancing, what was sown in tears would be reaped in joy.

On the resurrection side of the tomb, the women remembered Your words of hope You’d sown into their hearts on the suffering side of the cross. In the challenges of a broken, fallen world, we will have our days of disappointment and discouragement. Our plans will not always unfold as we envision in our minds. Rarely is there anything of lasting value that comes easily without trying circumstances that test our faith. And of course, there can never be resurrection with death, just as we can never truly know the heights of joy without the depths of sorrow, nor the brightness of the dawn without the darkness of the night.

Lord, remind me of all You’ve sown into my heart. Let hope arise when I’m tempted to doubt and tested in faith. All that You’ve spoken will come to pass. Not one of Your words will fall to the ground. Give me the grace of persevering trust and tenacious faith. Even when it looks like all has failed, remind me that You’re the redeeming God, Who causes all things—even death on a cross—the work together for good if we keep believing Your words and entrusting ourselves to the One Who’s conquered the grave and lives in our hearts. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, I'm praying for you to live in the hope and joy of the resurrection side of all you've been enduring through whatever seasons of suffering and death you've had to face. On this day after Easter, I'm excited to have my oldest son, Zach come from college to join me in a charity golf scramble to benefit The Refuge for Women, that our ministry encourages and supports in healing prayer ministry (www.RefugeForWomen.org ). My younger sons Elijah and Josiah will be along as caddies. Please pray for sunshine! God bless you and thank you for joining me in the journey of pray.


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He is Risen in Me! - April 24

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise, my soul, arise—Arise into newness of life this Resurrection Day and every day the Resurrected One arises in me. …

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen!” (Luke 24:1-5)

The stone has rolled away
All darkness is gone
The light of Your glory
Breaking forth at dawn

You’re alive
You arise
You live inside of me

I have new life
When You arise
And live inside of me

Darkness thought he’d won
Putting to death the Son
But death couldn’t hold
The power of life and love bestowed
Upon the One Who is alive

You’re alive
You arise
You live inside of me

I have new life
When You arise
And live inside of me

Lord Jesus, You’re alive. And You’re life is my life, because You live in me. The same Spirit that raised You from dead is the same Spirit that raises me into newness of life every day (Romans 8:11).

This Resurrection Day is world-wide display of Your victory of life over death, of light over darkness, of forgiveness over sin, of hope over despair, of all that is to come over all that has been. For great is glory and mighty is Your name. You have risen in the earth and You have risen in me! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

God bless you and Happy Easter on this day we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ!


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Perversion of Justice into the Righteousness of God - April 21

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I stand amazed in Your Presence; I bow low in honor of Your mercy; and I draw near in response to Your love. …

“Then (Pilate) answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ For he realized it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?’ They shouted back, ‘Crucify Him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify Him!’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed Him over to be crucified” (Mark 15:9-15).

It wasn’t right they rejected Your life and dishonored Your name.
It wasn’t right they perverted justice and condemned an innocent Man to die.
It wasn’t right they betrayed Your trust, scorned Your love and despised Your grace.
It wasn’t right they stripped Your honor, mocked Your glory and inflicted Your pain.
It wasn’t right they would receive Your mercy and grace as You hung on their cross.
… And mine.

Nothing about it was right. And yet, it was all perfectly right, because it was all within Your eternal plan to lay down Your life for us as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, once for all, that we might live forever with You. “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).

As Your Spirit declared through the prophecy of Isaiah eight hundred years before it happened: “He was despised and rejected by others; a Man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; as One from whom others hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him of no account…. He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed…. By a perversion of justice He was taken away… although He had done no violence and there was no deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the will of God to crush Him with pain ... because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:3-12).

In Your perfect righteousness You redeemed this greatest perversion of justice. In the form of Christ, You set aside the glory of heaven to humble Yourself in human flesh and blood to bear our sins for us on the cross, so that we could be forever cleansed of all the jealousy, selfishness, and pride in our hearts that nailed You there (Philippians 2:5-8).

Pilate was wrong; the chief priests were wrong; the crowds were wrong. Yet, in the power of the blood of Jesus, their wrongs were redeemed to fulfill all righteousness. “For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

You are the King of the Jews and the King of all. You are the King who came down off Your throne to be nailed to a cross out of Your love for me and for all, longing for us to allow You to be King of our hearts. You are my King who turned this perversion of justice into the righteousness of God. And I honor You with my thanksgiving and love for You this day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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


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Jesus was “I Am” - April 20

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You’re my Father, my Friend, and my Faithful Companion. I love You because You first loved me. I welcome You into my life because You first welcomed me into Your world. Guide my steps and direct my path, as I watch and wait for the leading of Your Spirit today and every day. …

“‘Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day; he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I Am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:56-59).

You claimed to be “I Am”—the Everlasting, Eternal God, Who appeared to Moses in the wilderness and Who created the universe long before calling Abraham to be set apart to birth a chosen people to become known as the Jews and a light to the nations (Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 49:6). You claimed to be the Messiah of Israel, humbling Yourself as God Almighty clothed in human flesh as the Anointed One and Savior of the world.

But the religious leaders in their self-righteous, self-centered, religious hearts could not hear it or bear it: “So the Jews gathered around Him and said to Him, ‘How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you plainly, and you do not believe…. The Father and I are One.’ The Jews took up stones again to stone Him…. The Jews answered, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone You, but for blasphemy, because You, though only a human being, are making Yourself God.’ Jesus answered, ‘… the Father is in Me and I Am in the Father.’ Then they tried to arrest Him again, but He escaped from their hands” (John 10:24-39).

They wanted to stone You to death for claiming to be God. But You had already determined before the foundation of the world that You would willingly choose to embrace the suffering and shame of a cross in Your eternal sacrifice of love on our behalf. You said, “I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again” (John 10:17-18). Only when they saw You crucified and raised again would their eyes be open to see the truth of Who You were and Who You showed Yourself to be: “So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I Am He’” (John 8:28).

By grace, You’ve opened my eyes to see Who You are. You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Holy One of God, both Son of God and Son of Man, the Word made flesh, One God in Three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—“the Alpha and the Omega… the Lord God, Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). And by faith I believe You laid down Your life for me on the cross in a sacrifice of love I can’t begin to fully understand, but in humility and gratitude choose to receive. Let no self-righteousness or self-centered pride keep me from fully embracing Your great gift of mercy and love for me and for all who choose to believe. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

As we remember the journey of Jesus to the cross this Holy Week, may the Holy Spirit fill you afresh with a true passion for Christ as we embrace the gift of His passion for us. God bless you, my friend! Please pass along these prayers to any of your friends who may be encouraged by them in their journey of faith.


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The Greatest Deed of Power - April 19

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me follow You wherever You lead me today. …

“As (Jesus) rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As He was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’” (Luke 19:36-38)

The multitudes praised You for Your deeds of power. But they couldn’t see that the source of Your deeds was the power of Your love. And when the day would come when You were no longer moving the power they praised, their praises of “Bless him as a king!” would soon turn to “Crucify him like a thief!” (v. 23:21) You saw their true hearts hidden from their own eyes, as You wept over them, crying out to them: “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes…. you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God” (v. 19:42-44). Yet You loved them still, and continued Your journey to the cross.

The deeds of Your power came out of the heart of Your love. And You were willing to die a shameful death for souls everyone of them—for those who would praise, for those who would judge you, and for those who would do both, depending on the pressure of their peers and the mood of the crowd. They didn’t have eyes to see that You were never for powerful than when You willing chose to be crucified in weakness. And the greatest deed of power was the power of Your love. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

I praise You, Lord Jesus, for all Your deeds of power in my life—for saving me, for healing me, for freeing me, for changing me. And I praise You for the power of Your love displayed in every deed of Your power—especially the deed of Your power over two thousand years ago when You willingly chose to lay down Your life for me on a cross. Let me not be swayed by the crowds or intimidated by my peers to turn away and deny Your love. Let me be found faithful to You, forever praising You for Your faithfulness to me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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


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