“Speak Up” — Morning by Morning, July 30, 2026

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV).

Freshly written and sent out immediately "morning by morning" from the morning prayer time of Tommy Hays each day.

God bless you and you have a great day!
—Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

http://messiah-ministries.org

Transcript

Morning by Morning, July 30, 2026 — “Speak Up”

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

As I wait, I hear in my heart, “Speak up.” And this Scripture comes to mind:

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV).

Across the world and even here in our own nation, where we have the blessing of God for the freedom of speech and religion, people are being intimidated into silence or mocked to scorn for the beliefs of their conscience. In the face of the fear of rejection and cultural pressure—whether through unspoken expectations or right in our face—we’re threatened to sit back and shut up; and we’re tempted to give in to the insecurities of our need to be liked and approved.

We desperately need Your grace for our courage to stand up and speak out whenever You lead. When those who cannot speak for themselves are being suppressed, when those whose rights are being trampled cannot fight back and overcome, when truth is being distorted, when history is being rewritten, when Your name is being defiled, when Your Word is being perverted, these are times to stand up and speak out, as You lead.

We must be “strong and very courageous” in obedience and faithfulness to go where You send us to go and to say what You lead us to say, not “turning” from Your word and Your will “to the right or to the left, that (we) may be successful wherever (we) go” (Joshua 1:7). In the power of Your grace, we must be faithful and bold to obey Your command with the assurance You give: “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (v.9).

This doesn’t mean we become reactionary, argumentative, or politically combative. We don’t go looking for a fight. We seek You. We listen in prayer for Your heart, Your perspective, Your timing, and Your words. Then, when You prompt us to speak, we don’t hide or run away, but stand up and speak up as You lead. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). May we “stand therefore” and “speak boldly, as (we) ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:14-20).

All the everyday settings of our lives are both challenges and opportunities to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). Not just truth, but the truth in love; not just love, but the truth in love. May we be found faithful and obedient to represent Your heart in the way You lead. For the children of God are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14).

Maybe in family conversations, a workplace meeting, a church discussion, a classroom, a school board gathering, a courtroom, a public office, or an exchange with friends. Maybe concerning issues of the oppression of the poor, sanctity of life, human identity and sexuality, religious liberty, justice, reconciliation, the right of Israel or any nation to exist and defend itself from terror, or any place where truth and love are being separated. The subject may be public, but the assignment is personal: What is the Holy Spirit asking me to say or do right here, right now?

We speak with courage, but always with the character of Christ (Colossians 1:27)—“speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), ready to give an answer “with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15), with words that are “gracious, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). We’re not to be controlled by the fear of controversy, but neither are we driven by a spirit of controversy. We’re led by the love of Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit of the Living God (Ephesians 5:18).

Not every moment calls for confrontation. Sometimes Your Holy Spirit tells us to listen, ask a question, wait, or remain silent. “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32). As Your Spirit leads, let us “be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19).

But when You say, “Speak,” silence becomes disobedience. When You say “Go,” reluctance becomes sin. In those moments we’re not to “shrink back,” but stand up and speak up in courage and faith (Hebrews 10:39). “The righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).

This is one of the ways we “raise up the foundations of many generations” (Isaiah 58:12). This is one of the ways we fulfill our calling as sons and daughters of God “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom (we) shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). With Your Spirit in our hearts, we are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” like “a city that is set on a hill (that) cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:13-14). 

Lord, give us that courage in our hearts and with our voices to stand up and speak up, as You lead, to arise and shine with Your Light for Your glory in the midst of the darkness and challenges of our world (Isaiah 60:1-3). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.