Morning by Morning is a 365 day prayer devotional that was written, in real time from real life, as the author, Tommy Hays, began each morning with his own devotional time, starting with a period of contemplative prayer. This time of contemplative prayer allows him to start every day embraced by the love of our Father, centered in our Savior, Jesus Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. He bases this time on the verses from Lamentations that inspired the beloved hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”. In Lamentations 3:22-23, it is declared that “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassion’s never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” What better way could there possibly be to start the day than in communion with our Heavenly Father, and what better time could there be than in the morning as we are embraced anew by His renewed blessings? As you begin, you’ll notice that in each of the prayers, you’ll see a “...” after he greets the Lord. This indicates the time that the author waits “in the silence of surrender before Him in the deep communion of prayer”, and he highly recommends that we do the same. It’s during this time of waiting and listening in contemplative prayer that the Holy Spirit brings to mind a particular Scripture, allows us to picture an image with our heart’s eye, or speaks to our spirits in His still, small voice, or whichever way the Lord chooses to reveal Himself. It’s this act of listening for God’s leading that turns our prayer time into a conversation, actual communion with our Heavenly Father. Hays simply journals what he hears and prays as he spends time with the Lord and has chosen a year’s worth of these devotional entries from his journals over the past few years.

What stood out the most for me, was the “...” because it stood as a reminder for me that my prayer time is supposed to be communing with my Father God. How can I truly know where God is leading me if I don’t wait and listen for His answer? As John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them and they follow me.” God knows us far better than we know ourselves. After all, He is our Loving Creator and knows us well enough that even the very hairs on our heads are numbered. Starting the day with these prayers really helped me to begin the day with a better perspective. My heart, mind, and soul were all much more at peace. All of the prayers are very Scriptural based and that was another aspect that I really loved about this devotional. I can honestly see myself revisiting various days throughout the devotional because I have no doubt that God will use different points each time, depending on what I’m facing at the time. I’m also going to be seeking out more devotionals and writings by Tommy Hays and will be recommending this devotional to my friends and family.