Max Lucado Daily: WRESTLE IN PRAYER - August 25, 2026
When the son of his friend died, “Elijah stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him’” (1 Kings 17:21 NKJV). Elijah had no precedent upon which to base this prayer. Up to this point in Scripture, no person had been brought back to life. He did this because he believed in a living God.
There are occasions in which we rest in prayer. There are other occasions in which we wrestle in prayer. Elijah wrestled. Elijah did first what mattered most: he prayed…passionately, dramatically, thunderously. Let’s do likewise. Let’s heed the command of Scripture: “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God…” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).
Unbreakable Courage
Psalm 143
A David Psalm
1–2 143 Listen to this prayer of mine, God;
pay attention to what I’m asking.
Answer me—you’re famous for your answers!
Do what’s right for me.
But don’t, please don’t, haul me into court;
not a person alive would be acquitted there.
3–6 The enemy hunted me down;
he kicked me and stomped me within an inch of my life.
He put me in a black hole,
buried me like a corpse in that dungeon.
I sat there in despair, my spirit draining away,
my heart heavy, like lead.
I remembered the old days,
went over all you’ve done, pondered the ways you’ve worked,
Stretched out my hands to you,
as thirsty for you as a desert thirsty for rain.
7–10 Hurry with your answer, God!
I’m nearly at the end of my rope.
Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me!
That would be certain death.
If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice,
I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you.
Point out the road I must travel;
I’m all ears, all eyes before you.
Save me from my enemies, God—
you’re my only hope!
Teach me how to live to please you,
because you’re my God.
Lead me by your blessed Spirit
into cleared and level pastureland.
11–12 Keep up your reputation, God—give me life!
In your justice, get me out of this trouble!
In your great love, vanquish my enemies;
make a clean sweep of those who harass me.
And why? Because I’m your servant.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
by Leslie Koh
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Amos 9:2-4, 11-12, 14-15
If they dig their way down into the underworld,
I’ll find them and bring them up.
If they climb to the stars,
I’ll find them and bring them down.
If they hide out at the top of Mount Carmel,
I’ll find them and bring them back.
If they dive to the bottom of the ocean,
I’ll send Dragon to swallow them up.
If they’re captured alive by their enemies,
I’ll send Sword to kill them.
I’ve made up my mind
to hurt them, not help them.”
Blessings Like Wine Pouring off the Mountains
11–12 “But also on that Judgment Day I will restore David’s house that has fallen to pieces. I’ll repair the holes in the roof, replace the broken windows, fix it up like new. David’s people will be strong again and seize what’s left of enemy Edom, plus everyone else under my sovereign judgment.” God’s Decree. He will do this.
I’ll make everything right again for my people Israel:
“They’ll rebuild their ruined cities.
They’ll plant vineyards and drink good wine.
They’ll work their gardens and eat fresh vegetables.
And I’ll plant them, plant them on their own land.
They’ll never again be uprooted from the land I’ve given them.”
God, your God, says so.
Today's Insights
We frequently encounter the metaphor of God’s “eyes” in Scripture, symbolism that speaks of His attentiveness to us. Before the Israelites entered the promised land, Yahweh told them: “If you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God . . . you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing Jordan to possess” (Deuteronomy 4:25-26). Centuries passed, and the people indeed became corrupt. God responded, “I will keep my eye on them for harm and not for good” (Amos 9:4). However, this “harm” (His discipline) ultimately was for their good. Although Yahweh said, “The eyes of the Sovereign Lord are on the sinful kingdom,” He also said, “I will not totally destroy the descendants of Jacob” (v. 8). God’s correction is for our benefit and intended to bring about our repentance. He’s quick to forgive and restore us.
For further study, read Taking Sin Seriously.
RELATED CONTENT
ARTICLE
God Sees All
I will keep my eye on them. Amos 9:4
Michael couldn’t help laughing as Grace hid behind a menu. They were playing a game of hide-and-seek at the table in a café while waiting for the food. The five-year-old thought that if she couldn’t see her father, then he couldn’t see her. It seemed silly at the time, but as Michael reflected on the situation later, he realized it contained an important lesson: Do we believe we can hide our sins from God? Do we think that if we can’t see Him, then He can’t see us?
In Amos 9, this same point is made when God, speaking through the prophet, warns Israel not to think they can escape judgment for their sins: “Though they hide themselves . . . I will hunt them down.” He said, “I will keep my eye on them” (vv. 3-4). Nothing escapes the eyes of the all-seeing, all-knowing God.
But the warning also came with a message of hope. In verses 11-15, God promises restoration: “I will restore David’s fallen shelter—I will repair its broken walls” (v. 11). After suffering the consequences of their sin, God’s people would be restored and given bountiful blessings (vv. 13-15).
Just as God sees our failings, He also sees our repentance, and He’s ready to forgive and restore. As we draw comfort from this truth, let’s hold on tightly to our holy and righteous God, who is full of mercy and grace.
Reflect & Pray
What sins are you struggling with? How will you respond to God's readiness to restore?
All-knowing God, nothing I do, think, say, or feel is hidden from You. Thank You for Your mercy and grace, for my hope is in You alone.
Nearness not distance is what tax collectors and sinners need and it’s what sinners still need. Jesus showed that he took sin seriously when he came near to us—his fallen and sinful creation—so that he could take away our sins. If you and I are going to follow the way of Jesus we’re going to have to come to grips with the fact that taking sin seriously is not demonstrated by distance but through nearness. Taking Sin Seriously
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
The Fruitfulness of Friendship
I have called you friends. — John 15:15
We never know the joy of self-sacrifice until we surrender every aspect of our lives to God. Self-surrender is the most difficult thing. We are always putting conditions on it, telling God, “I’ll do what you ask, if . . .” Or else we treat it as an enormous burden: “I suppose I must devote my life to God.” There is none of the joy of self-sacrifice in that.
As soon as we do surrender, the Holy Spirit touches us with the joy of Jesus. When the Holy Spirit comes in, we are filled with the desire to lay down our lives for our Friend, and all thoughts of it being a burden vanish, because sacrifice is the love passion of the Holy Spirit.
“I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8 kjv). Jesus was the embodiment of this passion. He wanted only to do his Father’s will, going about his sacrifice with exuberant joy and setting the example for us all. Am I following his lead? Have I yielded myself in complete submission to Jesus Christ? If Jesus Christ isn’t my lodestar, my sacrifice has no benefit. But if I set my eyes on him when I make my sacrifice, slowly and surely his transformative influence will begin to work.
“I have called you friends.” Our friendship with Jesus is based on the new life created in us, a life which has no connection with our old life. The new life is unutterably humble, unsulliedly pure, and absolutely devoted to God. When we enter into friendship with our Lord, we are called upon to show everyone we meet the love he has shown us. We must set aside our personal preferences and learn to love as God loves. Love, for God, is not sentimental. To love as God loves is the most practical thing for a disciple. Beware of letting natural inclinations hinder your walk in love.
Psalms 119:1-88; 1 Corinthians 7:20-40
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.
We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Neglecting to Call Home - #10337
Scripture: 1 Chronicles 14:10
I remember the time that my son got in real late. And I remember because that really wasn't his usual style. And, of course, I was waiting calmly and patiently for him to get home and, you know, waiting to hear his explanation; except for the hand cuffs and the bright light that I greeted him with. Now, he had good reasons. There were car problems, and there were people who really did have to be dropped off before he was, and, oh yeah, they got lost. It all checked out, but I was still an unhappy father for one important thing that he missed. Can you guess what it is? Uh-huh, "You didn't call!" Every parent knows, and most teenagers learn that you're making a big mistake when you don't call home.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Neglecting to Call Home."
I'm going to read our word for today from the Word of God from 1 Chronicles 14. David is in his unstoppable years; everything he does works, and there are secrets here to being unstoppable. Verse 10 says, "David inquired of God, 'Shall I go and attack the Philistines?' And the Lord answered him, 'Go and I will hand them over to you.'" In verse 14, it says, "David inquired of God again." And in this case he happens to be asking Him about a strategy for defeating the Philistines. You see, David checked with the Lord apparently on everything...well, almost everything.
One day he did a great thing. He had the ark of the covenant moved from the suburbs so to speak, the outer country, to where it would be in the center of things. But it was only to be handled by the Levites. That's the law of God! And they didn't do it God's way and a man died while transporting that ark. Now we read in chapter 15 of 1 Chronicles, "You are the heads of the Levitical families. You and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord to the place I have prepared for it. It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us." Now listen to this. "We did not inquire of Him about how to do it in the prescribed way."
In other words, David is saying, "We messed up because we didn't call our Father; we didn't check to see how God wanted this done." Our tendency is to pray about something, and then check in, same time, same station maybe tomorrow. Or pray when we're losing the battle. Can we learn a lesson from David when he was in his unstoppable years? Pray first about which battles to fight. Not every battle is one God wants you to be involved in. Get His orders before you get involved.
Then ask the Lord about how to fight the battle. Pray until you start to feel His plan for that battle unfolding. The ark incident teaches us that you can do a good thing in a way God doesn't want it done. Good thing, wrong way, and it won't work.
Too often, this guy's got to confess to you, I will pray about something in the morning, and then I'll put myself on cruise control and just kind of go ahead and not check in again until I hit a crisis. I'm a victim of my own momentum. Our Father expects us to check with Him frequently, regularly, all through the day, before a call, before an email, before a text, before a signature, before we drive, before we park, before we make a decision about where we're going to go next. "What do You want me to do, Lord?" "How do You want me to do it?"
You can be unstoppable if you move through all your day's choices in consultation with your Heavenly Father. Like earthly kids, we tend to get in a mess, and then come into the Father's presence with our head hanging. And our Father says, "You didn't call."
