Max Lucado Daily: PRAY BOLD PRAYERS - January 6, 2026
How bold are your prayers? As John Wesley crossed the Atlantic, he was reading in his cabin and became aware of heavy winds knocking the ship off course. He responded in prayer. A colleague wrote it down:
Almighty and everlasting God…Thou holdest the winds in thy fists and sittest upon the water floods…command those winds and these waves that they obey Thee. Take us speedily and safely to the haven whither we would go.
Having offered the prayer, Wesley took up his book and continued reading. On deck his colleague found calm winds and the ship on course. Wesley made no mention of the answered prayer. His friend wrote, So fully did he expect to be heard that he took it for granted he was heard.
How bold are your prayers?
Glory Days: Living Your Promised Land Life Now
Joshua 9
Gibeon
1–2 9 All the kings west of the Jordan in the hills and foothills and along the Mediterranean seacoast north toward Lebanon—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Girgashites, and Jebusites—got the news. They came together in a coalition to fight against Joshua and Israel under a single command.
3–6 The people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai and cooked up a ruse. They posed as travelers: their donkeys loaded with patched sacks and mended wineskins, threadbare sandals on their feet, tattered clothes on their bodies, nothing but dry crusts and crumbs for food. They came to Joshua at Gilgal and spoke to the men of Israel, “We’ve come from a far-off country; make a covenant with us.”
7 The men of Israel said to these Hivites, “How do we know you aren’t local people? How could we then make a covenant with you?”
8 They said to Joshua, “We’ll be your servants.”
Joshua said, “Who are you now? Where did you come from?”
9–11 They said, “From a far-off country, very far away. Your servants came because we’d heard such great things about God, your God—all those things he did in Egypt! And the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth! Our leaders and everybody else in our country told us, ‘Pack up some food for the road and go meet them. Tell them, We’re your servants; make a covenant with us.’
12–13 “This bread was warm from the oven when we packed it and left to come and see you. Now look at it—crusts and crumbs. And our cracked and mended wineskins, good as new when we filled them. And our clothes and sandals, in tatters from the long, hard traveling.”
14 The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn’t ask God about it.
15 So Joshua made peace with them and formalized it with a covenant to guarantee their lives. The leaders of the congregation swore to it.
16–18 And then, three days after making this covenant, they learned that they were next-door neighbors who had been living there all along! The People of Israel broke camp and set out; three days later they reached their towns—Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. But the People of Israel didn’t attack them; the leaders of the congregation had given their word before the God of Israel. But the congregation was up in arms over their leaders.
19–21 The leaders were united in their response to the congregation: “We promised them in the presence of the God of Israel. We can’t lay a hand on them now. But we can do this: We will let them live so we don’t get blamed for breaking our promise.” Then the leaders continued, “We’ll let them live, but they will be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire congregation.”
And that’s what happened; the leaders’ promise was kept.
22–23 But Joshua called the Gibeonites together and said, “Why did you lie to us, telling us, ‘We live far, far away from you,’ when you’re our next-door neighbors? For that you are cursed. From now on it’s menial labor for you—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24–25 They answered Joshua, “We got the message loud and clear that God, your God, commanded through his servant Moses: to give you the whole country and destroy everyone living in it. We were terrified because of you; that’s why we did this. That’s it. We’re at your mercy. Whatever you decide is right for us, do it.”
26–27 And that’s what they did. Joshua delivered them from the power of the People of Israel so they didn’t kill them. But he made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the Altar of God at the place God chooses. They still are.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 06, 2026
by Patricia Raybon
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Matthew 2:1-2, 7-12
Scholars from the East
1–2 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory—this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”
7–8 Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”
9–10 Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.
Today's Insights
Matthew alone shares the account of star-gazing Magi who traveled in search of the newborn king of the Jews. Though this was a one-time phenomenon, the diligence of these men as they searched for Jesus deserves our attention and emulation. As we search and study the Scriptures, we’ll find Him too. Stressing the fact that the Old Testament Scriptures spoke of Christ, He said to the fault-finding religious leaders of His day: “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40). The Bible (Old and New Testaments) testifies about Jesus (see also Luke 24:27, 44-45). As we seek Him and worship Him, we’ll grow in our faith, and God will lead us from our old ways to new paths.
Seeking the Christ Child
They bowed down and worshiped Him. Matthew 2:11
When writing teacher Peter Turchi sees a map, he looks for the adventure it holds. “To ask for a map,” he says, “is to say, ‘Tell me a story.’ ” I seized on that idea when preparing to teach a Sunday school class during Christmas on the “Faith of the Wise Men.” As I studied maps, I learned the Magi traveled some nine hundred miles—perhaps over several months—to find the Christ child, finally finding not a babe in a manger but a toddler living with His parents in a house. Their reaction after such a long trip? “They bowed down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11).
Their journey invited my students and me to plan with intention to seek Christ more fully. As Scripture tells us, when the Magi finally arrived in Jerusalem, their urgent question was: “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (v. 2).
Distance didn’t deter their worship. Nor did danger or delays. Herod’s deadly demand was ironic: “Go and search carefully for the child” (v. 8). Nobody had searched more diligently for Jesus than the Magi.
We can heed the example of the wise men by seeking Christ diligently too. Then, as we worship Him, we can expect our heavenly Father to speak to our hearts, leading us from old ways to new paths to journey with Him.
Reflect & Pray
How can you seek Christ this new year? How can you worship Him?
Dear Father, please help me to seek Your Son Jesus with all my heart and worship Him with all I have.
To learn more about seeking Jesus, watch In Pursuit of Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 06, 2026
Worship
He . . . pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord. —Genesis 12:8
Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abraham pitched his tent between the two, knowing that the value of his public activity for God depended on the moments of profound private communion spent with him.
The two things—private worship and public work—went together in Abraham’s life, just as they did in the life of Christ. Too many of us think that in order to worship we have to drop out of our everyday lives, to flee Ai and go deep into Bethel, that quiet fortress where nothing and no one can disturb us.
This way of thinking may be a trap. There is always time to worship, no matter where we are or what we’re doing. Rush is wrong every time. Instead of jumping around like spiritual frogs, from working to waiting to worshipping, we should strive to live as Jesus did: unhurrying and unyielding, his entire existence an act of worship.
Worship is giving God the best he has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. If you try to keep a blessing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual rot, just as the manna rotted when the Israelites hoarded it (Exodus 16). Offer it back to God as a love gift, in a deliberate act of worship, and he will make it a blessing to others.
Genesis 16-17; Matthew 5:27-48
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Wherever the providence of God may dump us down, in a slum, in a shop, in the desert, we have to labour along the line of His direction. Never allow this thought—“I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly can be of no use where you are not! Wherever He has engineered your circumstances, pray.
So Send I You, 1325 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 06, 2026
HEAVEN'S WAITING FOR YOU - #10172
It turned out to be one of TV's biggest and most surprising hits of the time - "Touched By an Angel." Actually, CBS almost canceled it after its first season. But they responded to all this mail they got, encouraging them to give it another chance. And with that, it just took off. It was consistently one of the top 10 TV programs in America! It was about three angels who take on human form and assignments from God to bring His hope and His messages into certain people's lives. And in an age when angels had become an intriguing subject for a lot of people, this positive program was really a success. Who would have guessed that it would be a success? Stories of humans whose lives are "touched by an angel"? Of course, there's an even bigger surprise. Did you know that angels can be touched by a human?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Heaven's Waiting for You."
Actually, the Bible says there is something you can do that literally touches the angels in heaven. It all has to do with a spiritual homecoming God has been waiting for a long time for you to experience.
Our word for today from the Word of God is about that. It's in Luke 15:10. Jesus has just been telling about the joy of a shepherd who is bringing home his lost sheep...and a woman who has just found a treasured possession she had lost. In both cases, the finder gets their friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me. I have found my lost sheep...or my lost treasure." Then Jesus tells how people like us can touch the angels in heaven. He says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
In heaven, they know that God sent Jesus, His one and only Son, to rescue us sinners. And according to the Bible, that's me, that's you, that's all of us. It says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The angels were there the night the Son of God came to live among us that first Christmas. An angel was there strengthening Jesus when He agonized in a garden over the cross that He knew He was going to be facing in a few hours.
The angels know that we who have lived outside of God's plans deserve the death penalty for running our own lives. They also know that God loved you so much that He sent His Son from Heaven to die so you don't have to.
And now God is waiting, has been waiting for a while, for you to respond to His love...to turn from your "my way" living and put all your trust in Jesus to forgive what only He can forgive, because only He died for it. He's waiting for you to come home spiritually. And when you do, the angels - who know how much is at stake in your decision about Jesus - they start celebrating your homecoming - a party in heaven.
If you've never had your moment when you've begun your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you could make your peace with God right where you are right now. Here's a homecoming prayer you could pray from your heart, "Lord, I know my only hope of having my sins forgiven, my only hope of going to heaven, is You and what You did when You died on the cross for me. I know you're alive! You walked out of your grave, and now I want you to walk into my life. I'm putting all my trust in You. I want You to be my Personal Savior. Beginning this day, Jesus, I'm Yours." If you prayed that, It's your homecoming day!
Let me invite you to go to our website, and there you'll see explained very simply and briefly how to begin and be sure you've begun your relationship with Jesus; how to know you belong to Him. The website is ANewStory.com.
If you will make this the day you come home to the One who died for you, the Bible says, heaven starts celebrating. Why? Because now, you'll be going there someday...and you'll be there forever.
