Max Lucado Daily: PRAYER WIMPS - June 11, 2026
I’m a card-carrying member of the PWA. “Prayer Wimps Anonymous.” Can you relate? We pray. We pray to stay sober, centered, and solvent. We pray when the lump is deemed malignant, when the money runs out before the month does.
We all pray some but wouldn’t we like to pray more? Like the disciples, when they ask Jesus, “Teach us to pray.” Teach us to find strength in prayer, to banish fear in prayer. Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and you. A prayer as simple as this one: “Father you are good. I need help, heal me and forgive me. They need help. Thank you in Jesus name.”
Every day for four weeks. Pray four minutes and then and get ready to connect with God like never before.
Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer
2 Samuel 21
Famine and War
1 21 There was a famine in David’s time. It went on year after year after year—three years. David went to God seeking the reason.
God said, “This is because there is blood on Saul and his house, from the time he massacred the Gibeonites.”
2 So the king called the Gibeonites together for consultation. (The Gibeonites were not part of Israel; they were what was left of the Amorites, and protected by a treaty with Israel. But Saul, a fanatic for the honor of Israel and Judah, tried to kill them off.)
3 David addressed the Gibeonites: “What can I do for you? How can I compensate you so that you will bless God’s legacy of land and people?”
4 The Gibeonites replied, “We don’t want any money from Saul and his family. And it’s not up to us to put anyone in Israel to death.”
But David persisted: “What are you saying I should do for you?”
5–6 Then they told the king, “The man who tried to get rid of us, who schemed to wipe us off the map of Israel—well, let seven of his sons be handed over to us to be executed—hanged before God at Gibeah of Saul, the holy mountain.”
And David agreed, “I’ll hand them over to you.”
7–9 The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the promise David and Jonathan had spoken before God. But the king selected Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons that Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, plus the five sons that Saul’s daughter Merab had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He turned them over to the Gibeonites who hanged them on the mountain before God—all seven died together. Harvest was just getting underway, the beginning of the barley harvest, when they were executed.
10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took rough burlap and spread it out for herself on a rock from the beginning of the harvest until the heavy rains started. She kept the birds away from the bodies by day and the wild animals by night.
11–14 David was told what she had done, this Rizpah daughter of Aiah and concubine of Saul. He then went and got the remains of Saul and Jonathan his son from the leaders at Jabesh Gilead (who had rescued them from the town square at Beth Shan where the Philistines had hung them after striking them down at Gilboa). He gathered up their remains and brought them together with the dead bodies of the seven who had just been hanged. The bodies were taken back to the land of Ben-jamin and given a decent burial in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father.
They did everything the king ordered to be done. That cleared things up: from then on God responded to Israel’s prayers for the land.
15–17 War broke out again between the Philistines and Israel. David and his men went down to fight. David became exhausted. Ishbi-Benob, a warrior descended from Rapha, with a spear weighing nearly eight pounds and outfitted in brand-new armor, announced that he’d kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to the rescue, struck the Philistine, and killed him.
Then David’s men swore to him, “No more fighting on the front-lines for you! Don’t snuff out the lamp of Israel!”
18 Later there was another skirmish with the Philistines at Gob. That time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, another of the warriors descended from Rapha.
19 At yet another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaar, the weaver of Bethlehem, killed Goliath the Gittite whose spear was as big as a flagpole.
20–21 Still another fight broke out in Gath. There was a giant there with six fingers on his hands and six toes on his feet—twenty-four fingers and toes! He was another of those descended from Rapha. He insulted Israel, and Jonathan son of Shimeah, David’s brother, killed him.
22 These four were descended from Rapha in Gath. And they all were killed by David and his soldiers.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, June 11, 2026
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
1 Peter 3:13-17
If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad.
Today's Insights
The key idea in 1 Peter 3:13-17 is that a hope-filled life in Christ can trigger conversations about the gospel. Notice how the apostle puts it: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (v. 15). In a world filled with brokenness and despair, when people see someone living with hope that transcends this world, it gets their attention and can cause them to desire what that person has. When they ask about this hope, we can point them to the message of Jesus, who’s “given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1:3). When we’re prepared to share God’s love with others, we’ll have the privilege of telling them about Jesus, our living hope.
Be Prepared to Share by Dave Branon
Be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15
The teenager stood her ground. While her high school group was visiting a home for people in rehab from addictions, Claire engaged in conversation with a twentysomething man who towered over her in size. They talked about faith.
Claire clearly presented the gospel of Jesus. He countered with his spiritual views, which were very different. Back and forth they went in a friendly give-and-take way. Finally, the young man looked at Claire and said, “You got me. I can’t argue with what you’re saying.”
Though he didn’t put his faith in Jesus, a seed had been planted. And while Claire would have loved for the young man to have received Christ, her disappointment was balanced by the reality that she’d done what God had called her to do that day: “Be prepared to give an answer” (1 Peter 3:15). She had lovingly shared God’s plan of salvation.
Claire wasn’t ashamed of the gospel (Romans 1:16). She was prepared to “give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). And she knew how to let her “conversation be . . . full of grace” so she would “know how to answer” (Colossians 4:6) the young man in the right spirit.
What a privilege God gives us to make Christ known to others! Let’s be ready to share with others as He provides what we need.
Reflect & Pray
How can you prepare for an opportunity to share your faith? Who do you know who needs to hear the gospel?
Dear God, please encourage my heart and open my mouth so I can “give an answer” to others who need You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Getting There
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. — Matthew 11:28
Do I want to get to this place of rest? I can, right now. The questions that matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by the words “Come to me.” Not “Do this, don’t do that” but “Come to me.” If I will simply come to Jesus, my life will be brought into accordance with my deepest desires. I will cease sinning, and I will hear the song of the Lord begin.
Have you ever come to Jesus? Watch the stubbornness of your heart. You will do anything besides the simple, childlike thing. But if you want to stop sinning, you must be simple enough to come and commit yourself to what Jesus says. The attitude of coming is one of complete surrender; you let go of everything and commit all to him.
Jesus Christ makes himself the touchstone for our lives. Look at how he uses the word come. At the most unexpected moments, he whispers, “Come to me.” The instant you hear his voice, you are drawn to him, changed by him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything.
“And I will give you rest.” Jesus isn’t saying that he’ll put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep. He’s saying, “I will get you out of bed—out of the inertia and the exhaustion, out of the state of being half dead while you are alive.” He’s saying, “I will fill you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity.”
Sometimes we get pathetic; instead of accepting the will of the Lord with confidence, we start talking about “suffering” it. Where is the majestic vitality of the Son of God in that?
Ezra 1-2; John 19:23-42
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance.
Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Lazy Listeners - #10284
June 11, 2026
If you ever saw my oldest son, when he was younger, eating a hamburger, you’d see how quickly it disappears. I’m sure that you would find it hard to believe that there was a time when he was actually too young to eat one. Yes, but we have the movies at home to prove it! You’ve seen this little baby eating this mush that only babies eat. He didn’t have any equipment to chew a hamburger with, right? So we’d feed him this smooth, beaten-to-death version of the real thing – no chewing, no effort, it just kind of slides right on down. Now he has to work harder on it these days, like when you’re eating a steak. But he seems to have no desire to go back to the good old days of baby food. The best food will require some effort, but it’s worth it.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Lazy Listeners.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 5, and it’s about lazy eaters. I’m beginning at verse 11. The writer says, “We have so much to say to you, but it’s hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need somebody to teach you the elementary truth of God’s Word all over again. You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
Now, the writer of Hebrews is writing to some Christians who insisted on food that didn’t demand much of them. In this case, milk. They were lazy eaters. Well, that kind of laziness is all too common among a lot of us Christians today; we are, in North America, some of the most entertained Christians in history. We’re so spoiled by our radio preachers, our TV shows, our seminars, our Christian celebrities. We want our sermons to be funny, and exciting, red-hot challenging, and short. We want our speakers to be entertainers. We expect our teachers to be brief, to the point. How dare they talk too long! And we want our pastor to chop up our food for us and give it to us Gerber-ized. We like melt-in-your-mouth messages that don’t take a lot of effort.
Well, there are a few very gifted pastors or speakers who do 80% of the chewing for you. All you have to do is meet them with maybe 20% of your attention; you don’t have to put a lot of effort into it. But most of God’s messengers require careful attention from you, a determination to follow along with them, a willingness to make your own applications and connections.
There are some people who have a lot to say from the Lord, but they require you to come maybe 40-50-70% of the way. There are writers like that. You say, “This is hard to read.” But it’s worth sticking with it; it’s worth chewing. See, a spiritual leader doesn’t have to be funny or have a ton of charisma in order to feed you God’s Word. He doesn’t have to be some famous preacher or TV celebrity. God has put you under the teaching care of someone who loves God and cares about you; one of his servants. Don’t expect that leader, that pastor, that teacher, that writer to do all the chewing for you. Give your God-appointed teachers your very best.
When you listen to them, go prepared to chew, to work for your good meal. You’re too big for baby food. Lazy eaters never grow up. So, don’t be too lazy to chew a good piece of meat.
