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Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Resourcing Praying Pastors - “Making your Church a House of Prayer” recording by Dr. Mel Blackaby

Posted by Thomas Bush on October 28, 2017 at 5:48

This month, October, 2017, Prayer Assist began sending copies of “Making your Church a House of Prayer” recording by Dr. Mel Blackaby (Henry Blackaby’s son and current pastor) to praying pastors as a Pastor’s Appreciation gift. The recordings are made available to pastors and their staff for FREE.

Here’s how you can help: You can help Prayer Assist resource more praying pastors with the “Making your Church a House of Prayer” recording.

1. Pray that pastors and their staffs would be impacted to ask the Lord, “How can I lead your people to be a “House of prayer”?

2. Send names and addresses:

a. If you know of a praying pastor who would benefit from receiving this recording, please reply with their name and mailing address and Prayer Assist will mail the recording to your pastor for FREE.

3. Invest: You can invest in this praying pastors initiative by making a tax-deductible gift to Prayer Assist. For an investment of any amount, your will receive a copy of this powerful recording and scripture prayer resources you can use!

a. For every gift of $10.00 or more, Prayer Assist will be able to send a copy of “Making your Church a House of Prayer” to praying pastors.

b. Help Prayer Assist with postage for the mailings. $3.00 pays for 1 mailing. You can make a donation to cover postage or mail $1 stamps to me. (Available at Post Office)

To make a tax-deductible investment in Prayer Assist:

1. On-line: Visit www.prayerassist.org/donate and enter your gift or

2. Send a check payable to "Community Impact” to Thomas Bush, Prayer Assist, 7918 El Cajon Blvd, Suite N137, La Mesa, CA 91942

Thank you in advance for prayerfully considering partnering with Prayer Assist to resource praying pastors!

Blessings Thomas Bush, Director, Prayer Assist.

A Pastor Appreciation Prayer

Posted by Dan Crawford on October 22, 2017 at 17:56

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. As we ^“Remember those . . . who have spoken the word of God” (Hebrews 13:7), I like to share a long-ago newspaper-clipped “Prayer for my Pastor” which I assume is anonymous. I have used it many times. “Dear God, bless my pastor today. Make him too big to be little; too wise to be foolish; too holy to be selfish; too spiritual to be worldly; too tall to get a chip on his shoulder; too dedicated to swerve; too zealous to be idle; too cultured to be course; too happy to be morbid. Save him from the love of big words, the fear of carnal people, the tedium of too many announcements. Deliver him from the rut of running overtime, the pit of pointless preaching, the evil of emotionless messages. Strengthen him when the tempter would lure him into sins shallow or deep; when he is the target of tongues whetted to a severe sharpness. Empower him with the Spirit of Pentecost to make him strong in the pulpit; with the Spirit of Christ to make him steadfast in weakness. Keep him from toning down the spiritual messages to please the worldly; from trimming down his sermons into sermonettes; from talking down to his congregation in display of conceited sophistication. Give him wisdom to wait when he does not know which way to turn; grace to begin when he does not know who will follow; courage to lead when he knows he’s right. Fill him with unction every Sunday; enthusiasm every Monday; and with the Holy Spirit every day. And help me to not discuss his faults with anyone but You, O Lord. Amen.”

WELCOMING PRAYER

Posted by David Young on October 16, 2017 at 0:11

I have seen some interesting things in churches over the years. I knew a church where no one spoke to visitors or anyone else in the service. They had a young pastor who wouldn't put up with that. He challenged them, encouraged them, and scolded them. And sure enough, they began to speak to one another and gregariously welcome guests. But when you watched this congregation a while you realized that no one felt welcomed in there fellowship. Why do you think that was?

I knew another church where the people were quiet even a little shy. But everyone who came felt loved. I don't know all the differences, but I know something crucial about this church. The pastor encouraged everyone to pray for visitors and everyone around them in the services. He used to say, “We want to be a church where people know they will be prayed for when they come here.” It should not surprise us that people were often heard to say they sensed the presence of God there.

This is an important part of a church being or becoming a house of prayer. This can be done informally and quietly. I believe it should also be done formally and openly. I love welcome tables in the vestibule of a church. I believe someone working in a welcome center should ask guests entering a church how they would like someone to pray for them. You can pray briefly with many of those coming. At least write that request down and pray silently for God to meet that person's need. Possibly share it with the deacons or a prayer team.

Pray for Las Vegas and More

Posted by Dan Crawford on October 4, 2017 at 12:52

We sat in the airport awaiting our flight and watched as people boarded the flight at the adjacent gate - Allegiant Airlines flight 417, non-stop to Las Vegas. They were mostly happy people, headed for a holiday weekend or a vacation. Many no doubt planning to visit a few casinos, perhaps take in a few shows. We laughed at some as they gathered all their belongings and tried to carry on more than was allowed. We grieved with one who arrived five minutes after the door was shut. A little more than 48 hours later, a lone gunman, with an arsenal of guns and ammunition, sat in a hotel window and killed 59 people, injuring another five hundred plus. We wondered about the happy folks who boarded the plane next to us. Were any of them at the concert? Were any killed there? Any injured? Did any lose friends who flew to Las Vegas with them? And what about the one who missed the flight? It has been a subtle reminder that the length of life is uncertain. Sharing with a stranger, even if it is only a smile or a wave, could be their last. I awoke Monday morning to an abundance of “Pray for Las Vegas” notices on my social media. I have done so, and will continue to do so. But I will do more. I will pray for the passengers who were on Allegiant #417. I will pray for my friends who live and serve in Las Vegas. I will pray for America. I will pray for leaders to make right decisions. I will pray that deranged people get help before it is too late. I will pray that we are all ready for earthy life to end. I will pray that we pass up no opportunity to share with others, especially those who are near an unexpected end to life. “You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

A CRUCIAL KEY TO UNITY IN PRAYER

Posted by David Young on October 3, 2017 at 13:34

Last week I wrote about uniting in a tapestry of prayer focusing on the prayer meeting in Acts 4. Among the treasurer's that can be easily mined from that prayer meeting are some wonderful keys to unity in prayer. One of the most important is praise.

When Believers come together in prayer there is, or ought to be, a humility that welds our hearts together. We are broken, heartbroken, and forgiven. And that is certainly an underlying factor in the book of Acts and the whole Bible. However there is no specific reference to it in this prayer. You can, I suppose, sense it in the tone, but I do not believe it is in the words of this prayer.

The Holy Spirit also uses the opposition of the world to bind Believers together in prayer. This prayer is a prime example of that. Peter and John have just returned from the Sanhedrin having been beaten within an inch of their lives and warned never to speak the name of Jesus again in public. It is from this platform that this prayer burst forth from the hearts of the Believers. But while this was certainly a factor in their unity on that day, something else is primary as the people raise their voices together in prayer.

Note the words of this prayer beginning with verse 24.

“Sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”

The primary words that bound the church miraculously together on that day we're a triumph of praise. The people were bound together by the greatness and majesty of God our Savior and our Lord Jesus Christ.

I was recently in a prayer meeting that began with praise. The first two three people praised God. The next man chafed at beginning with praise. He was upset over things he had seen on the news that morning. He said, “I live alone and I don't have anyone to talk to but my dog. I've got to share this grief, and we've got to pray about these things.” As he shared the unity of the prayer meeting was diluted. The primary focus of prayer needs be God. When we start with our heart aches, fears, or the trials we face, we focus on ourselves.

Focusing on the greatness of God strengthens our faith. Praising God together strenghthens one another’s faith. Then when we come to pray for heartaches, we face them in confidence in the greatness of our God to handle them. Praise brings us into a powerful unity of faith encouraging one another to trust in God.

Morning by Morning, October 3 - In the Shelter of the Most High

Posted by Tommy Hays on October 3, 2017 at 9:52

Morning by Morning, October 3 - In the Shelter of the Most High

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Every morning is a good morning in You. No matter what's going on in my world, You're always here in my heart. As you said long ago, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:33 NLT). ...

As I enter in to our time of communion in prayer this morning, my heart is still heavy with the massacre of so many in the Las Vegas shooting so fresh in all our thoughts and prayers. The music turned to mayhem with nowhere to hide from a hailstorm of bullets out of a hell-storm of hatred and cowardice and evil. They'll try to find out what darkness filled his mind, but we know all too well and see all too often the darkness that seeks to invade any of our hearts to turn us against God and one another and ourselves. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10 NRSV).

Ultimately, evil is not a person, but a spiritual force of darkness looking for every opportunity to divide and conquer and destroy. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV). So it's only in You and the mercy of Your grace and the power of Your name that we can find the security and peace we need in these dark days to "stand against the wiles of the devil" through every onslaught of his hatred, cowardice, and evil (Ephesians 6:11).

The only true shelter we have is "the Shelter of the Most High" as we seek to "abide in the Shadow of the Almighty," choosing to humble ourselves and call on Your name, to "say to the Lord, "My Refuge and my Fortress; my God, in whom I trust" (Psalm 91:1-2). You alone are our Comforter and Healer. You alone are our Redeemer of all that doesn't make sense and is so out of our control.

You never intend or will the evil in our world. But at the same time, You are never unaware of our suffering and our needs, our fears and our fights. And You never leave us nor forsake us through whatever we endure in our lives or in our land through the darkness of these days. Evil will never have the last word or the find say. And You never back down from the promise and the hope of Your Word to those who choose to find Shelter in You: "Those who love Me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know My name. When they call to Me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them My salvation" (Psalm 91:14-16 NRSV).

Here in my heart, here in our land, be our Shelter again. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May you be safe and secure in the shelter of the Most High, knowing God is with you through whatever you endure, making sure His Word will have the final say over your life, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. I join with you in prayer for all who are suffering or shaken by what has happened in Las Vegas and happening in our land. Together we call upon the name of the Lord who hears us when we call to answer us and lead us to His salvation. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, I'm excited to be publishing my new book --

Free to Be Like Jesus! (Updated and Revised 3rd Edition) endorsed by Max Lucado, Andy Reese and Randy Clark.

Click Here to Order One Today through Amazon/CreateSpace

Endorsement from Max Lucado:

"Tommy Hays has spent a lifetime studying the place of prayer in inner healing. I have personally benefitted from his teaching, writing, and encouragement. This book gathers a wealth of helpful insights and experiences into one volume. I am honored to have it on my shelf and honored to call Tommy my friend."

Endorsement from Andy Reese,

Author of Freedom Tools:

"Tommy Hays combines a lawyer's keen logic with a spiritual intuition to bring inner healing to a practical, effective, and applied level. His proven techniques have been used in hundreds of ministry settings and can serve as simple yet profound tools in the hands of even the novice minister."

Endorsement from Randy Clark,

Global Awakening:

"Free to Be Like Jesus! will take you on a journey to learn more about the inner healing ministry. This book has many foundational spiritual truths and will help you if you want more healing in your own life, or if you want more tools to assist you in your inner healing ministry."

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.facebook.com/Janetthompson.authorspeaker

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Mentoring Can Change the World: Starting with Our Children and Grandchildren

Posted by Lillian Penner on September 20, 2017 at 16:56

This summer, my eleven-year-old granddaughter and her friend were here to participate in a kids’ Drama Camp at our local outdoor theater. Both girls are baptized Christian tweens, at a perfect age for mentoring as they enter into middle school this year. We’ve been doing my Bible study Face-to-Face with Mary and Martha: Sisters in Christ via SKYPE, or in person, for quite a while. We’ve had many discussions where I help them use Scripture from their Bibles to apply to their young lives. They have so many questions and are at a crossroads between not being little girls, but not grownups either. As tweens, they’re soon going to have more freedoms to make decisions—but not the wisdom that comes with maturity.

Every parent has heard the excuse, “But everyone else is doing it.” I remember my parents saying something like, “If everyone jumped off a cliff would you too?” Sadly, today many kids and adults are jumping off the moral and spiritual cliff to fit in with the culture, or they’re afraid to express beliefs that differ from the worldview.

Even children are bullied for supporting America’s president when their accosters usually don’t even understand why they’re reacting so violently. Where do these young bullies learn this reaction? Television, the Internet . . . perhaps parents, grandparents, or even teachers?

I watched an interview of high school kids encouraged by their teachers to ditch school and participate in a protest march. Those kids had no clue why they were marching or what they were protesting! They weren’t trying to change the world; they were being changed by a worldview they didn’t really understand.

We may want to pull the covers over our head and ignore the unrest in the world. But the parting words Jesus gave to His disciples regarding Christians’ place in the world, the Great Commission, reminds us there’s work to do, starting with our children and grandchildren.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

However, the last page in the Bible also foretells that the world will always have good and evil.

^“Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” Revelations 22:11

We all want our children and grandchildren knowing and doing what’s right and holy, even when their peers encourage them to do wrong and vile acts! Parents and grandparents are the ones responsible for teaching and instilling these virtues. We cannot rely on the schools, and sometimes not even our churches.

We must help them not grow weary or discouraged doing good. Here are some ideas for guiding and mentoring your children, grandchildren, or mentees.

1. Help Them Learn Scripture from Their Own Bible

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12 NLT

Teach them to paraphrase if they need to, but God’s Word applies to every area of life in every century (Heb. 13:8). Jesus used Scripture when tempted by Satan in the desert and taught the disciples to pray “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13). Help them memorize Scriptures to resist temptation. My granddaughter’s friend said her Dad is teaching her Psalm 23 for when she’s afraid.

2. Remind them to Stay Civil and Polite, But Stay Firm in Your Convictions

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Peter 3:15-16

Those caught up in the world’s cults, atheism, alternate belief systems or lifestyles, feel compelled to challenge us for our faith in Christ, so our first impulse is to engage in a debate. If you’ve ever tried arguing or reasoning with someone blinded by the world’s belief system, you know it’s usually futile. I mentor my granddaughter whose third grade teacher reprimanded her for sharing Jesus with two girls challenging her for her faith, that her best answer is, “This is what I believe because the Bible (or God or Jesus) tells me so.”

Other times, believers fall into the same trap the serpent used with Eve when someone asks them, “Did God really say…?” Simply say, "Yes He did, and I’ll find the Scripture for you.” Jesus didn’t come to sanctify the world’s ways, He came to save the world from its ways.

3. Remember the World is In Spiritual Darkness, So Let Your Light Shine

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

The world loves darkness. Yet into this dark world came Jesus, the Light of the world, and He has hidden His light in each believer’s heart. Our light must shine brightly, no flickering. When we enter a room, a social media conversation, a family or friendly gathering, work, play, school, as parents, grandparents, employers, employees, kids . . . wherever life takes us . . . our light shines, even if we’re the only light for Jesus. “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” Teach your grandkids that song and sing it with them.

4. Everyone is Not Going to Like You

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:18-19

We’re living in a lost world loudly anti-God and anti-Christian and influencing the next generation. We can’t be quiet. As Christian parents and grandparents, our job is to help the next generation be world-changers for Christ concerned more about what God thinks about them than what the world thinks. It may be hard for kids to get this point, but they need to be prepared that some people won’t like you for not agreeing to do wrong. They may try to bully, dare, entice, call you names, make you feel bad, but that’s just because you doing the right thing convicts them for doing the wrong thing.

We’ll never have a perfect world until Jesus returns, but as long as we have breath, we're saved to make a difference in the world. Start your children and grandchildren young believing this means them too! Maybe it’s their friends, sports coaches, unsaved relatives…teach them to pray. Here’s a prayer to start with:

Dear Lord, though the world does not know you, I___________ know you, and I pray that you will let the world know that you have sent me as your servant. Help me make you known to a lost world and I will continue to make you known where you put me so that the love you have for me may be in them also. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to live in my heart. Amen. John 17:25-26 personalized and paraphrased as a prayer.

My September release Mentoring for All Seasons: Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness has helps, tips, encouragement from Scripture for mentors and mentees from tweens to twilight seasons and a special chapter on the Grandparenting Season, in which Lillian Penner contributes her story. It’s available for sale now at bookstores, online at Amazon, and signed at my website bookstore. #mentoringforallseasons and the link to the book bit.ly/mentoringseasons

Janet Thompson, an international speaker, freelance editor, and award-winning author of 19 books including her latest Mentoring for All Seasons: Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness. She’s also the proud Grammie to eleven grandchildren.

Here additional books: Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, The Team That Jesus Built, Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby?, Dear God They Say It’s Cancer, Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, the Face-to-Face Bible study Series, and Woman to Woman Mentoring Resources. She is also the founder of Woman to Woman Mentoring and About His Work Ministries.

Visit Janet at:

womantowomanmentoring.com.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/womantowomanmentoring/

www.pinterest.com/thompsonjanet

https://twitter.com/AHWministries

Book Review: Simple Prayer (Charlie Dawes)

Posted by Andrew R. Wheeler on September 10, 2017 at 17:30

"My name's Andrew, and I'm a list-prayer." OK, list praying is not really an addiction (though some of the more mystical among us might make us feel like we need to confess it). God wired many intercessors - including me - this way. But most of us would admit that there are times when the lists get exhausting. We tire ourselves out with our own words, and our sense of God's nearness dims as we concentrate on the details of our lists.

Enter a book like "Simple Prayer". By looking at some of the brief, simple prayers in Scripture, Charlie Dawes reminds us that it's not about our words as much as it is about connecting our hearts with God. And he shows a way to do this that is as elegant as it is simple.

Beginning with the prayer that has come to be known as the "Jesus Prayer" ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner"), Dawes leads the reader through several of Scripture's simple prayers and shows us how these prayers connect with the heart of God. Simple prayers like, "Just say the word," uttered by a Roman centurion who expressed both his faith and his petition in these four simple words. Simple prayers like, "Help me overcome my unbelief," the desperate cry of a father for strengthening of his faith and healing of his son. Simple prayers like, "Father, forgive them," prayed by our Savior on behalf of those who tortured and killed him.

Simple prayers like these are one way we can connect with God throughout the day, a way to pray without ceasing. There is a time for striving in prayer, but simple prayers remind us that God does not hear us because of our striving but because he is the God who hears.

I'm not one for prayer formulas, and I know that my primary mode of prayer will always be the list-intercession type. But knowing that I can connect with God simply and Scripturally is opening a new vista for me in prayer. The prayers studied in this book make me excited to search the Scriptures for other examples of simple ways to connect with God's heart.

Simple Prayer was published by Intervarsity Press in 2017. You can find it at ivpress.com/simple-prayer.

Morning by Morning, September 5 - Turning Hurricane Harvey into a Harvest of the Kingdom

Posted by Tommy Hays on September 5, 2017 at 9:53

Morning by Morning, September 5 - Turning Hurricane Harvey into a Harvest of the Kingdom

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today. ...

"Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples" (John 13:35 NLT).

Several of us from our ministry went to the Red Cross disaster response training this weekend to help with the victims from Hurricane Harvey. Since the local Red Cross facility was being overwhelmed with what they called "the Texas-sized" response of people wanting to help, they held the training in the sanctuary of the one of the biggest churches in San Antonio. It was a beautiful sight to see thousands from across our city -- crossing all the cultural, racial, and denominational barriers -- come together as one to help.

All across Texas, we see hearts opening up and walls coming down. And the body of Christ is in the midst of it all to be the hands and heart of Jesus, right alongside our neighbors who may not yet share our faith but who share God's heart of compassion and mercy and love. True unity comes from the Holy Spirit -- "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3).

In that unity of the Spirit -- with the walls that would divide us being swept away in a hurricane of love no less devastating to the kingdom of darkness than this hurricane that devastated the coastline of Texas -- all the world is watching us and our response. And may they see the heart of Jesus in the midst of it all. May they know we are Christians by our love. And as they see the unity of the Spirit rising up in our hearts silencing the storms of racism and hatred that were brewing in our land, may there be a great harvest of the kingdom that comes out of this hurricane of destruction.

The witness of oneness is a witness to the world that the Father sent His Son to save us all. As You modeled the unity of the Spirit on the earth and prayed to Father for us all, "I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are One ... so that the world will believe You sent Me.... May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent Me and that You love them as much as You love Me" (John 17:21-23 NLT). In this way and in so many more, You are redeeming this storm and turning Hurricane Harvey into a great harvest of the kingdom (Matthew 13:39). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray in agreement with you that the Holy Spirit will continue to unite us and love through us, as God redeems this storm to turn Hurricane Harvey into a great harvest of the kingdom, in Jesus' name. I join with you in prayer for that lives would be restored in this coastal region of Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico, and that all who are suffering in the wake of this storm would experience the protection and provision of our God, in Jesus' name! May the presence of God in His mercy and love and through His people be evident in the midst of it all. God bless you, my friend!

Our Prayers are with all the people of this region of Texas, Louisiana, and all who are enduring this storm and the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

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PRAY THE CHURCH ROLL

Posted by David Young on September 3, 2017 at 23:51

I have been thinking about writing a book on prayer in a church family. My working, or maybe thinking, title is Praying Together. I can get excited about it, but I am not sure I will get to it. I want to write two more books before I start it. And my time is limited. So I want to set some of the ideas out to you in my blog.

Our church is in a difficult place right now. We are without a pastor. And for this and other reasons my wife and I have felt we need to pray as we have never prayed before. In fact, I believe churches all over the world need to sense and respond to this urgency. This week my wife suggested that we go to the church one morning and pray through the church roll. Our reasoning for doing this had nothing to do with the experience. But we were both blessed by our time in prayer. We intend to do this regularly and invite some others to join us. I was still a young pastor when God began to convict me to pray through our church roll Every day. Many pastors and church leaders are so blessed with church members that you would need to divide up the roll up into sections to pray for each day. I know you are busy. But prayer is important. You might even break up your study and other work during a day to pray ten minutes every hour or so. I try to do that with my writing. I believe this, along with a weekly Sabbath, has kept me from burn-out over the years.

But none of these things are actually what I would like to see. What I long for begins with individuals and couples praying for the church body. But I would like something that includes more people. I would like to see deacons and elders, staff members, teachers and leaders commit to spend time every day praying for our church families. I would like to see it spread like wildfire through a church body.

Is that all the prayer that I think we need? Absolutely not. But I believe God might use something as simple as this to begin a movement that would shake a nation to its knees and touch the entire world.

PRAYING AGAPE

Posted by David Young on August 21, 2017 at 15:23

This week I was working on a proposal for my book on AGAPE. And I thought this was something I should run here.

Okay, you are rushing to work in the morning. You got away from home without breakfast or even a cup of coffee. But you've made better time than usual and you have just enough time to pull into Starbucks. But the car in front of you takes an extra ten minutes trying to decide what everyone in the car wants to order. How do you react? You need agape to respond in a godly manner.

You are in the grocery store and although the line is longer, you go to the register marked “20 items or less” thinking it will move faster, only to discover that two people snuck into the line with baskets overflowing. How do you maintain your composure? Let me suggest that you develop the habit of praying for the overworked cashier, for each person in line, for all the children hanging on to the carts and begging their parents for candy and gum. If you finish praying for them, you can pray for your pastor or people you know who are sick or in the hospital. Praying draws you into awareness of the nearness of God. As you pray God will pour His love into you. And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Years ago I challenged a group to pray for people in traffic on their way to and from work. Many of them commuted an hour or more twice a day. I told them they could pray for hundreds of people on the freeway. The next week they came back giving testimonies about how much better they felt when they arrived at work and when they got home at night.

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Morning by Morning, August 17 - The First Word of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God

Posted by Tommy Hays on August 17, 2017 at 9:55

Morning by Morning, August 17 - The First Word of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In my prayers and worship, in these offerings of the first fruits of day, I draw near to You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- and welcome You to draw near to me. ...

"Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.... Then Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men' " (Mark 1:14-17 NKJV).

The first word of the gospel of the kingdom of God is not "Believe in Me" or "Follow Me" or "Go into all the world and make disciples of Me" or even "Go, be baptized in the Holy Spirit, pursue the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit, save souls, heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, storm the gates of hell, preach with power, teach with authority, grow up into the maturity of Christlikeness, as you are being transformed and conformed into the image of the Son of God." Without question, these are all part of the gospel of the kingdom (Mark 6:7; Matthew 10:8 and 28:18-20; John 14:12 and 20:21; Luke 9:1-2; Acts 1:4-8). But all these powerful commands and worthy aspirations are not first.

The first word of the gospel of the kingdom of God is simply "Repent."

Before anything else, we must repent. We must make a choice to turn to You -- to change our mind, to have a change of heart, to trust You and entrust our lives to You, as best as we can and all by Your grace, just as we are. We must simply repent.

And it's not just a one-time choice, a one-time prayer, a one-time mark of a red-letter day on our spiritual calendar. It's choosing a lifestyle of repentance -- choosing to continue to turn our hearts over to You, every moment of every day. It's the on-going attitude of a heart of being transformed by the renewing of minds, being conformed to the image of the Son of God, being filled with Your Spirit, and being empowered to be more like You every day.

We can't do any of that in our own power. We can't even desire any of that in our own will. Apart from You, we can do nothing that would ever bring any good or lasting fruit for ourselves or for others. You have to give us the desire and the power. But You're always so ready to do just that. Our part is to make that choice and keep on making that choice. Our part is to repent.

We repent because the kingdom of God is at hand. And as we repent, the kingdom of God begins to live and grow in our heart -- for "the kingdom of God is within (us)" (Luke 17:21 NKJV). "For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).

So come, Holy Spirit. Move in my heart to repent and keep on repenting in a lifestyle of repentance -- allowing You to keep changing my mind, my heart, and my soul into who I'm created me to be. Abba Father, let Your kingdom come and Your will be done, here on earth and here in my heart, as I continue to turn and entrust my heart to You.

As Your Word proclaims and promises, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14 NKJV). Come, Lord Jesus. "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'" (Revelation 22:17) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you'll daily choose to repent and embrace the kingdom of God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength -- as best as you and all by God's grace, that the King of the kingdom may advance His kingdom in you and in the world around you every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Join me on the journey of prayer every day!

Morning by Morning

Second Edition

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, August 14 - "Overcome Evil with Good"

Posted by Tommy Hays on August 14, 2017 at 10:04

Morning by Morning, August 14 - "Overcome Evil with Good"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, here in my heart and here in these first moments of my morning that I offer to You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).

Don't curse the darkness, be a blessing of light. Stop murmuring and complaining about all that's wrong, and be a part of all that's right. Quit staring down the problems and start looking up to the One who is the answer. Let go of your longing for the good 'ole days and take hold of the hope that promises the best is yet to come, even in the midst of all that's dark and evil and wrong. "For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will appear over you! Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn!" (Isaiah 60:2-3)

So with hope in your heart and passion in your spirit, "Arise, shine; for your light has come, (for) the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!" (Isaiah 60:1) "Lift up your eyes and look around.... Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice.... and I will glorify My glorious house.... I will appoint Peace as your overseer and Righteousness as your taskmaster. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.... the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.... Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever.... I AM the Lord; in its time I will accomplish it quickly!" (Isaiah 60:1-22)

Yes, Lord. Your kingdom come; Your will be done -- here on earth, as it is in heaven; here in my heart, as it is in Your heart; here in my home and my community and my nation, as it is in Your kingdom -- the kingdom of God, where our God rules and reigns. As You encouraged us with Your promise long ago -- long before the depths of darkness and evil we see and are yet to see -- "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!" (John 16:33 NKJV)

Yes, Lord, You have overcome. Now, by the power of Your Spirit living in me, come overcome through me today. Let Your good overcome evil; let Your light overcome darkness; let Your love overcome hatred; let Your kingdom overcome my world, starting right here in my heart. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the light of the glory of God will arise and shine through you in your world today, as He empowers you by His Spirit to overcome evil with good and advance His kingdom through your life, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Join me on the journey of prayer every day!

Morning by Morning

Second Edition

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

http://www.grandparentsdayofprayer.com

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Are you Standing in the Gap with Prayer for your Grandkids?

Posted by Lillian Penner on August 2, 2017 at 18:51

We live in a time of extraordinary circumstances and events. We all—our culture, our nation, our world need grandparents to be actively influencing their grandchildren for Christ. We need to be intentional. It takes effort. It takes prayer. It takes you.

Our role as a grandparent in the lives of our grandchildren is unique and powerful. Our influence is incredibly important. No one else has the power or the influence that we do in the lives of the grandchildren.

Never forget that no matter who you are or what your situation is, God is in it with you. He has the power to make your efforts for His kingdom take root and bear fruit. He just needs grandparents to stay involved. Show up. Be there. Remain in the game. Or get in the fight. Then watch what God does to reach our grandchildren for Him.

As grandparents, we have the responsibility to pray for our grandchildren deliberately. Ultimately, it is up to Him to draw hearts and minds to Himself, including the hearts and minds of our grandchildren and their parents. However, we can partner with God to influence our families for Jesus Christ.

As one of the Prayer Directors for Christian Grandparenting Network, I would like to encourage you to participate in a Grandparents @ Prayer intercessory prayer group. There are many groups throughout the United States, Canada, and South Africa meeting to pray for their grandchildren intentionally. I have guidelines and resources to help you get started. Grandparents tell me repeatedly how they appreciate having a place where they feel safe requesting prayer for their grandchildren going through difficult times. You my learn more at https://christiangrandparenting.net/grandparents-at-prayer/

Lillian Penner, lpenner@christiangrandparenting.net

Sherry Schumann, sherry@christiangrandparenting.net

Grandparents’ Day of Prayer is an excellent time

to plan an event to gather grandparents to share with them

about starting a Grandparents@Prayer group.

Dear Lord, help my grandkids learn how to recognize

Your voice when you speak to them.

In Jesus” name.

Morning by Morning, July 28 - Love and Obedience

Posted by Tommy Hays on July 28, 2017 at 9:50

Morning by Morning, July 28 - Love and Obedience

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice. ...

"If you love Me, obey My commandments.... All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn't love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me. I am telling you these things now while I am with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as My Representative -- that is, the Holy Spirit -- He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you" (John 14:15-26 NLT).

Does loving You also include obeying You? Or does loving You only include receiving Your mercy and grace and the freedom to do what seems right in my own eyes to follow the leading of my own heart in the logic of my own reasoning? Will Your Holy Spirit lead me in love without leading me in obedience? ...

I sense there is something You want me to hear about love and obedience. ...

It seems I hear You speaking in my spirit: "My son, your desire to obey Me is a mark of your desire to love Me. It's a matter of the nature of faith -- faith that trusts Me to know and to desire what's best for you. To love Me is to trust Me, and to trust Me is to obey Me. This is the nature of love and obedience I want you to come to understand. Seeking to love Me without the desire to obey Me is loving some idea of Me that is crafted by human minds, not by My sovereign will."

Yes, Lord. Help me understand this more deeply. Help me test what seem to be Your spoken words against Your written Word. "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. I have said these things to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:8-11).

There is a connection between love and obedience, between living in faith that trusts You and Your Word and the complete joy we're created to experience in our loving relationship with You and one another.

A Scripture that comes to mind now is from Galatians 5:3-6: "For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love." And this: "For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.... those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:13-21).

Truly loving You will lead me to seek to obey You because I trust You. And You've given me Your Spirit who is at work in me, changing my heart to love You more, trust You more, obey You more, and become more like You every day (Romans 8:29). "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT). As the old song says, help me "trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray your joy will be made complete as you grow in the desire to love and obey the Lord our God in ever-increasing, trusting faith in Him, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 18 - Intimacy Evangelism

Posted by Tommy Hays on July 18, 2017 at 9:51

Morning by Morning, July 18 - Intimacy Evangelism

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Savior and Strength, my Comforter and Counselor, my Father and Friend, my All in All -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. ...

"As You, Father, are in Me and I am in You, may they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given them, so that they may be one, as We are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that those also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:21-24).

There's a oneness of intimacy that I desire because You've created me to desire it. There's a longing for trusting relationship that burns in my bones because it burns in Your heart. You created me for a relationship of love, just as You created me in Your image, because You are Love and it's the nature of love to be lived out in the intimacy of relationship (1 John 4:16).

Lord Jesus, You knew and You know that depth of intimacy with our Father, as both Son of Man and Son of God, both on earth and in heaven. And it's the longing of Your heart -- just as we hear in the yearning of Your prayer when You walked this earth as a model of intimacy with God for us -- that we would have that depth of intimacy as well.

We often read Your prayer "that (we) may be one" as a cry and a call for the oneness of unity among the church of Jesus Christ, among all believers from every tongue and tribe and nation throughout the world and throughout every generation. And no doubt, that is Your heart. But I also believe that the heart of Your prayer is a cry and a call for oneness of intimacy between our God and our hearts -- "that (we) may be one" with our Father, just as You were one with our Father (John 17:22).

This kind of intimacy with our Father can only come through our intimacy with You. As Your Word explains, in the expression Your prayer, "I in them and You in Me, that they may become completely one" (John 17:23). It's when we experience that depth of intimacy, in the communion of our relationship with You -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit -- that "the world may know" that God the Father sent Jesus, the Son, to love us just as the Father loves the Son (John 17:23).

In this sense, seeking to live our lives in intimacy with You is the most powerful means of evangelism we have to reach the hurting and the lost with Your message of healing and hope in the power of Your love. As You said, "I in them and You in Me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me" (John 17:23). You have "so loved the world" that You came into our world as Son of Man and Son of God to show us the life we can live forever in the eternal intimacy of a deeply personal relationship of love with You (John 3:16). As You said, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3).

I've heard of "power evangelism" and "relationship evangelism." Maybe this is an expression of "intimacy evangelism." But for the sake of those who are lost, as well as for the sake of those who have been found, may we all come to know You and Your love for us more deeply, more intimately every day. That's my prayer. And I believe that was Your prayer to our Father for me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May you experience the depth of intimacy of the same love the Father has for Jesus, knowing He has that same love for you, in Jesus' name! Through your experience of "becoming completely one" in Him, my your world around you come to know that the Father has sent His Son to love and to save every one of them. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, it's good to be back with you on our daily journey of prayer after I've been away for a time of intensive ministry and then family vacation. Thank you for all your prayers for me and my family and our ministry. I pray God's blessings of rest and return, as well as a growing depth of intimacy with Him for you. Thank you for joining with me in the journey! God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 17 - Rhythms of Rest and Return

Posted by Tommy Hays on July 17, 2017 at 9:56

Morning by Morning, July 17 - Rhythms of Rest and Return

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and all of my life. ...

"Now during those days He went out to a mountain to pray; and He spent the night in prayer to God. And when the day came, He called His disciples and chose twelve of them, whom He also named apostles.... He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch Him, for power came out of Him and healed all of them" (Luke 6:12-19).

Lord Jesus, You are our Savior and Healer and Deliverer. You are also our model for ministry, as we continue Your ministry of healing and hope as Your body, filled with Your Spirit, in the power and authority of Your name (1 Corinthians 12:27). And You modeled for us the rhythms of rest and return -- resting in the presence of God in prayer and peace so we can return with passion to pursue our mission of ministering Your healing and hope to the hurting and lost, full of Your heart of love and power.

Thank You for the seasons of rest, and thank You for the seasons of return. Help me grow into the place of intimacy and maturity where I'm always at rest in You, even as I return to ministry in You -- Your Spirit always abiding in me, always doing Your work of ministry through me -- whether I'm away on the mountain or in the midst of the crowds. This is the rhythm of rest and return You have for me -- resting in You, as Your Spirit flows through me (Hebrews 4:1). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May you always rest in the peace and presence of the Lord, even as you return each day to passionately pursue your mission and ministry in Him by the power and presence of His Holy Spirit in you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, it's good to be back with you on our daily journey of prayer after I've been away for a time of intensive ministry and then family vacation. Thank you for all your prayers for me and my family and our ministry. I pray God's blessings of rest and return for you. Thank you for joining with me in the journey! God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

LISTENING IN PRAYER

Posted by David Young on July 17, 2017 at 13:40

Nothing is more important for praying together than a listening heart. Do you remember the story of Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 3? The Lord told Solomon He would give him whatever he asked. In 1 Kings 3:9 Solomon asked God for a “discerning heart.” The Hebrew word translated “discerning” is “shema.” Some of you have heard of the Jewish prayer called “The Shema.” Shema is the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4. “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Shema means to listen or to hear. I do not object to translators rendering this word, discerning, here. But literally Solomon was praying for a listening heart. Listening is the foundation of spiritual discernment.

Listening is crucial for praying together. If you come into prayer full of what you want to say, you will miss what God is saying to you. C.S. Lewis gave us a poem in Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer.

They tell me, Lord, that when I seem

To be in speech with you,

Since but one voice is heard, it’s all a dream,

One talker aping two.

Sometimes it is, yet not as they

Conceive it. Rather, I

Seek in myself the things I hoped to say,

But lo!, my wells are dry.

Then, seeing me empty, you forsake

The listener’s role and through

My dumb lips breathe and into utterance wake

The thoughts I never knew.

And thus you neither need reply

Nor can; thus, while we seem

Two talkers, thou art One forever, and I

No dreamer, but thy dream.

When we pray, especially when we are trying to pray together, we need to be able to listen for what God wants to breath through our lips and into the group prayer. And of course, God will speak to you as others in the group pray. As you learn to listen to others you will hear what God is showing others in the group, and what He is saying to them. Soon you realise that God Himself is speaking to you through the prayers of the others.

Such listening hearts are indeed a work of God in our midst. And it is a thrilling evidence of His holy presence in our prayers.