Morning by Morning—Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Morning by Morning, April 11 - Our Passover Lamb -- Greatly Powerful, Deeply Humble

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I speak out Your name, my spirit comes to attention in the deep communion of prayer with You, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ....

"Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray Him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off His outer robe, and tied a towel around Himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' Jesus answered, 'You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.' Peter said to Him, 'You will never wash my feet.' Jesus answered, 'Unless I wash you, you have no share with Me.' Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!' Jesus said to him, 'One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.' For He knew who was to betray Him; for this reason He said, 'Not all of you are clean'" (John 13:1-11).

In preparation for the Passover, You washed the feet of Your little lambs. They didn't yet fully understand that You were to be the Passover Lamb -- "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). And they didn't yet fully understand how You could be so great and powerful -- "the Father had given all things into (Your) hands ... (You) had come from God and (were) going to God"-- yet at the same time, You were also so humble and loving, so intimate and personal (John 13:3). They thought You were cleaning their feet, but You came to cleanse their souls (John 13:10). And "(You) loved them to the end" (John 13:1).

Just as You would lay down Your life for them, they would soon be filled with Your Spirit as they would choose to completely lay down their lives for You and for one another (Acts 1:8). "We know love by this, that (You) laid down (Your) life for us -- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.... All who obey (Your) commandments abide in (You), and (You) abide in them. And by this we know that (You) abide in us, by the Spirit that (You) have given us" (1 John 3:16-24).

Just as You humbled Yourself to wash their feet, they would learn by Your example to humble themselves to wash one another's feet (John 13:14). You were helping them understand how to live a life in Your Spirit -- secure and confident in their identity, purpose, and power, yet at same time walking out their calling and destiny in humility, obedience, and love. "Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them" (John 13:16-17).

Lamb of God, cleanse me in Your blood. Fill me with Your Spirit. Teach me Your ways and empower me to walk in them -- secure and confident in my identity, purpose, and power, yet at the same time walking out my calling and destiny in humility, obedience, and love. Apart from You, I can do nothing, but as I abide in You and allow Your Spirit to abide in me, my life will bear much fruit that honors Your name and Your sacrifice for me (John 15:5). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be walk out your calling an destiny knowing You are greatly powerful in Christ, with the same Spirit who raised Jesus from dead living in you, but also deeply humble to walk in His ways of humility, obedience, and love, in Jesus' name (Romans 8:11). Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Friday, April 07, 2017

Morning by Morning, April 7 - Heart-Cry Lament Over Jerusalem

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Light of the world, light up my heart and my path before me today. ...

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, 'Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord'" (Matthew 23:37-39).

Your heart sees our hearts. And Your heart breaks for every way we refuse to fully entrust our hearts to You.

You're a good Father, longing to bless us with Your favor and provision, Your guidance and grace, and a confident sense of our true identity as children of God (v. 23:9). You're like the mother hen that longs to gather her babies under her wings in the unity and community of faith and love, in the intimacy and security of Your embrace (v. 23:27). You're our Savior, our Messiah, our Teacher and Guide, who longs for us to see You are You are and follow You will all our hearts, trusting You to be all we need and all we desire (v. 23:10).

But just like Jerusalem, we don't always fully trust You with all our hearts, despite Your heart for us. One day, we welcome You into our hearts and lives with open arms and high praises (v. 21:9). But the next, we find ourselves turning away from You to go back to depending upon ourselves and insisting on our own ways, instead of fully trusting in You and Your ways (v. 27:22).

So You lament over us, but You never stop loving us. Your heart breaks for us when we turn away, but You never stop reaching out to us to draw us back into Your embrace. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).

So as best as I can, all by Your grace, from the depth of my heart, I cry out "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!" Let me see You as You truly are! Then I can see myself as I truly am. Come again, this day and every day, into my heart as Savior and Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the Living God.

And at the same time, I pray for the day when all of Jerusalem, and all she represents, will do the same. "Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts shall be called the holy mountain" (Zechariah 8:3). "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your King comes to you; triumphant and victorious is He, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.... He shall command peace to the nations; His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.... On that day the Lord their God will save them for they are the flock of His people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on His land" (Zechariah 9:9-16). "And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the One whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over Him, as one weeps over a firstborn (Zechariah 12:10). "On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.... They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are My people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is our God'" (Zechariah 13:1-9). "And the Lord will become King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and His name one.... Jerusalem shall abide in security" (Zechariah 14:9-11). "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Psalm 118:26; Matthew 21:9). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you receive our Savior's embrace and all His grace into your heart this day and every day, crying out to Him, "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord," in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. And please join with me in the agreement of prayer for Jerusalem and all the people of God (Psalm 122:6; Romans 11:26). God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Thursday, April 06, 2017

Morning by Morning, April 6 - Taking Up the Cross

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in Your steps. ...

"(Jesus) called the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, '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, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.' And He said to them, 'Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power'" (Mark 8:34-9:1).

You called Your first disciples to "take up their cross" even before You took up Yours. And now that You've taken up Yours, You call every disciple who chooses to follow You to do the same.

Lord Jesus, give me the courage to take up my cross and follow You. Give me the grace to willingly, obediently, and joyfully choose to lose my life for Your sake and for the sake of Your gospel. May I do my part in my generation to see Your kingdom come with power -- here in my heart and here in my world -- today and every day until You come again in the glory of the Father with the holy angels.

Let these words be true of me as they were of Your disciple Paul: "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). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will find great joy and fulfillment in your journey with Jesus, taking up your cross, losing your life for His sake, and following Him into all He has for you and the glory of His name in your heart and your world, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Wednesday, April 05, 2017

Worship and Healing Prayer Service Tonight in San Antonio

Come join us Tonight if you can in San Antonio or join us by prayer if you can't for the First Wednesday Worship & Healing Prayer Service at 7pm at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus on I-10 in San Antonio, Texas, in the South Room Sanctuary.

All are welcome! Please spread the word.

www.OakHillsChurch.com/FirstWednesdayService

I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing through prayer. Our Rapha God Ministries Prayer Team will be joining the Oak Hills Prayer Team to offer personal prayer ministry following the worship and message.

May the name of Jesus be high and lifted up as we encounter the healing love of God in spirit, soul, and body. May you also experience the Lord's power and presence in your church and community. Thank you for your prayers!

God bless you,

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

South Room Sanctuary of Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus

19595 IH 10 West

San Antonio, TX 78257

oakhillschurh/map/crownridge-campus

Morning by Morning, April 5 - The Zeal of the Spirit

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak to my heart, Holy Spirit of God, as I begin my day centered and grounded in You and Your Word -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...

"The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple He found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, He drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling doves, 'Take these things out of here! Stop making My Father's house a marketplace!' His disciples remembered that it was written, 'Zeal for Your house will consume me'" (John 2:13-17).

The zeal of the Spirit is at war with the entrenchments and compromises of the flesh. Compromise is the enemy of purity. And the places where we make room for the ways of the world in the place that belongs to You alone are the battlefields of our souls. Even the apostle Paul acknowledged this battlefield of the soul, saying "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.... I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members" (Romans 7:15-23). But he admitted his struggle and his need to turn to You in humility and repentance, crying out, "Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25)

Come, Lord Jesus! Come into every place of compromise in my heart. Let the zeal of the Lord consume me. Take the whip of Your Word in the power of Your Spirit to reveal and remove everything in my heart that I've allowed or exalted in Your place. And replace it with Your truth, Your Presence, and Your peace. Set things right within my soul.

Your Word commands, "In your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord" (1 Peter 3:15). Let my heart be set apart for You. By the power of Your grace, I choose to sanctify You as Lord in my heart -- in every area of my soul. Restore me to righteousness, as You continue to drive everything out of me that's not yet like You (Romans 8:29). Bring me to the place where I can truly say, I "love the Lord (my) God with all (my) heart, and with all (my) soul, and with all (my) mind, and with all (my) strength" (Mark 11:30). My Father God, rekindle the flame and let the zeal for Your house -- the temple of my heart -- consume me again. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray zeal of the Spirit will consume you with a fresh passion for God's purity in your heart, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Please keep us in prayer for the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Prayer for Healing at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus in San Antonio tonight, April 5 at 7pm. I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing. Come join us! All are welcome!

http://oakhillschurch.com/crownridge/crownridge-campus/adult/firstwednesday/

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Tuesday, April 04, 2017

Morning by Morning, April 4 - Determined for Destiny

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, for Your sheep hear Your voice and follow You (John 10:3). ...

"From that time on, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to You.' But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things'" (Matthew 16:21-23).

You were determined to fulfill Your destiny. Even the anticipation of rejection, betrayal, and abuse could not dissuade You or distract You. Even the seemingly encouraging rebuke of love from an assuring friend and faithful disciple could not redirect Your steps, confuse Your thoughts, or alter Your course. You had set Your face like flint to go to Jerusalem and fulfill all righteousness with the holy sacrifice of Your holy life for all of us (Isaiah 50:7 fulfilled in Luke 9:51).

All along the way, You had the freedom to say "No," but continued to say "Yes" -- "Yes" to the will and the way of God, "Yes" to Your identity and Your destiny (Luke 22:42). And all along the way, it was necessary to have Your mind set on divine things, not human things, to "set Your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2).

Peter thought he knew best. He even "took (You) aside and began to rebuke (You)" (Matthews 16:22). Wow, what chutzpah! But how many times have I done the same -- maybe not as directly, maybe a little more passively-aggressively, but with just as much insistence on the things and the ways of this world, instead of the things and the ways of God, nonetheless.

But You were resolute. Give me grace to do the same -- humility to seek the will of my Father, the faith to believe it's always God's best from heaven's perspective even if it doesn't look like it from earth's perspective, and the courage to obey. "For (I) died, and (my) life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). Give me grace to be determined for destiny, as I seek to walk "in (Your) steps" (1 Peter 2:21). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be empowered by the grace of God with humility, faith, and courage to be determined in the destiny our Father has for your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Please keep us in prayer for the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Prayer for Healing at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus in San Antonio this coming Wednesday Night, April 5 at 7pm. I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing. Come join us! All are welcome!

http://oakhillschurch.com/crownridge/crownridge-campus/adult/firstwednesday/

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Monday, April 03, 2017

Morning by Morning, April 3 - We Don't Always Understand, but We Can Always Trust

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

"They went on from there and passed through Galilee. (Jesus) did not want anyone to know it; for He was teaching His disciples, saying to them, 'The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill Him, and three days after being killed, He will rise again.' But they did not understand what He was saying and were afraid to ask Him" (Mark 9:30-32).

You were trying to teach Your disciples, but they didn't always understand. And though You were always with them and always available to them to answer the questions on their minds and speak to the needs of their hearts, sometimes they still found themselves too timid to ask and maybe even a little afraid of hearing the truth. So many times, we're just the same.

You understand that we don't always understand and Your Word inspires faith that steadies our fears and helps us trust in Your ways. You invite us, "Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; listen, so that you may live.... Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near... For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:2-9). We don't always understand, but we can always trust (Isaiah 26:4).

In the thoughts and ways of God that are so much higher and wiser than we could ever imagine, You turned death into life, brought victory from what seemed like certain defeat, and everlasting honor from rejection and shame. So give me faith to trust in You and Your ways when I don't understand and when I still struggle with doubt. You are the God who is sovereign over all, "declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill My intention.... I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have planned, and I will do it'" (Isaiah 46:10-11). Yes, You are; and yes, You will. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will confident in the One who is worthy of your trust, even when you don't understand, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, thank you so much for your prayers for us at the "Glory to Glory" Healing Conference hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries at the Francis Asbury Society Headquarters in Wilmore, Kentucky last weekend. We experienced the healing love of God in so many ways in the deep presence of the Lord.

Please keep us in prayer for the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Healing at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus in San Antonio this coming Wednesday Night at 7pm. I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing. Come join us! All are welcome!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Morning by Morning, March 29 - Holy Spirit, Speak to Me

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, filled with the Spirit -- I seek Your face and listen for Your voice as I begin my day in worship and prayer. ...

"The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us" (Acts 11:12).

Holy Spirit, speak to me, I pray. You spoke with specificity to Peter. He "heard a voice" speaking to him and recognized it as Your voice (v. 7). You led him "step by step" to speak and to act according to Your will through Your leading (v. 4).

Lead me, Lord. I need Your wisdom, Your guidance. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Let me hear and recognize Your voice. Then give me the grace to trust You and the humility to obey You, knowing that You know what's best, knowing You always desire Your very best for me (Luke 11:13). "How much more will (my) Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him" (Matthew 7:11).

I want to receive every good thing You have for me. I want to follow You step by step. "And when (I) turn to the right or when (I) turn to the left, (my) ears shall hear a word behind (me), saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:19). Just as Peter was a child of God, a disciple of Christ, filled with the Spirit, seeking to hear Your voice and follow Your leading, so am I. So I'm trusting You to speak to me and lead me in the way "that leads to life" -- today and every day (Acts 11:18). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you hear the voice of the Spirit speaking to you and leading you in the way that leads to life, filled with every good thing your Father has for you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, please come join us and spread the word for our "Glory to Glory" Healing Conference hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries at the Francis Asbury Society Headquarters in Wilmore, Kentucky March 31-April 1st. I'm excited to be sharing a message and ministry time along with one of my mentors in ministry, Dr. Steve Seamands of Asbury Seminary, as well as Jeff Rogers of Wellspring Prayer Center, Chris Dunagan, and Pastor Amy Barkman.

Attendance is Free, but please Register for the Conference:

http://www.voiceofjoyministries.com/events.html

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Morning by Morning, March 28 - Powerful Proof of the Presence of God

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I return to my morning place of prayer, I return to my first love. I love You, Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- and welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...

"God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us" (1 John 4:13 NLT).

Holy Spirit of God -- when I sense Your presence welling up inside of me, when I experience Your anointing flowing through me, when I know deep down in my soul that I am not alone, that I am deeply loved, that I'm a child of God created for His pleasure and for His glory, You are my proof -- powerful proof -- that I live in God and God lives in me. "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in (me). And just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He will give life to (my) mortal body by this same Spirit living within (me).... For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.... For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children" (Romans 8:11-16 NLT).

Come, Holy Spirit. Fill me afresh today (Ephesians 5:18). Remind me of who I am, of Whose I am today. Let me live out this day in the full awareness of Your ever-abiding presence leading me, empowering me, and always assuring me I am a child of God. In Jesus' name pray. Amen.

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

I pray you experience and embrace the powerful proof of the presence of God through a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit in your heart today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!