Believing Our Forgiveness

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:15-21)

This is one of the saddest passages in the Bible. Joseph’s brothers have been living in Egypt under Joseph’s protection for 17 years now. As the de facto ruler of Egypt, he’s provided them with houses, land, food, and everything they need. And yet, they can’t forget that long ago they sinned against Joseph by selling him as a slave into Egypt. They fear that now, Joseph will finally take his revenge.

It isn’t Joseph’s fault! Joseph has made it clear that he forgives them. But people tend to judge the hearts of others by what they know of themselves. The brothers can’t believe because they know that they themselves would never behave that generously. And so they hold on to their disbelief and fear through 17 years of silent worry.

They aren’t the only ones to behave like this. How many of us do the same thing with God? We know we deserve punishment. And we know, also, that we aren’t good at forgiving others who treat us badly. So when Jesus says to us, “Your sins are forgiven. I love you, and you are Mine”—well, it’s hard for us to believe Him. How could such a wonderful thing be true?

But it is. It doesn’t matter how terrible we’ve been or what evil we’ve come out of—Jesus really does want us, really does forgive us and love us and take delight in us. And He wants us to believe that, and not spend years or decades worrying. So whenever we doubt, Jesus says to us, “Look at My death, where I nailed the record of your sins to the cross and destroyed it forever” (see Colossians 2:13-14). Look at My resurrection, when I left death behind Me so that I could give you everlasting life and love with Me forever. You are Mine. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16a).

WE PRAY: Dear Savior, help me when I doubt Your forgiveness! Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Current Mood: thankful

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So Far

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:10-12)

Do you ever want to get away from it all? Travel and tour agencies, airlines and tourist destinations advertise plans to help you get away. People hope to escape, at least for a while, from the ordinary worries and trouble of daily life. How far is far enough to get away? Some things we can never escape on our own. No airline or travel agency can separate us from our transgressions, no matter how desperate we are to get away from the wrong that we do.

If God chose to deal with us according to our sins, the result for us would be death and eternal condemnation in hell. We would be separated from God and from all hope forever. We do not like to talk about that. We do not even like to think about it. Yet the psalmist proclaims good news. In His steadfast love, God does not deal with us according to our sins. He does not repay us according to our iniquities. Instead, God chose to deal with His own beloved Son according to our sins. He chose to repay His own Son according to our iniquities. As the prophet Isaiah foretold concerning the Savior: “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed … and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5, 6b).

Jesus was nailed to the cross and took the terrible burden of our sin onto Himself. The Savior did not try to get away. He did not come to earth to escape from the cross. The innocent Son of God came to live among us for that purpose, to atone for the sins of the world. Through the forgiveness won for us by His death and resurrection, our sins are separated from us by an immeasurable distance, as high as the heavens are above the earth. Our sins are removed from us as far as the east is from the west, points of the compass that never meet. Daily we repent of our sins and receive God’s forgiveness. Our sins are forever removed from His sight. We do not need to “get away from it all.” It is our sins that are taken away. And how far is that? As far as the heavens are above the earth, as far as the east is from the west, as far as the cross is from the empty tomb—and that is far enough.

WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, deal with me according to Your steadfast love and mercy, and forgive my sins. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.

Current Mood: grateful

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Presence, Proof, & God Being God

Chris Kimpston, Men’s Pastor, Hope WDM
Luke 24:36-53

Because we know Easter follows Good Friday, we can often miss this fact: The disciples have been through a lot.

While certainly not blameless through the entire thing, you can see that, within a few days, the disciples go from parading into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to being betrayed by one of their own to having their leader and teacher arrested to watching him be falsely convicted and dying the most painful death imaginable. Their lives were upended; everything they thought they knew about God, the world, and their role in it changed within the time they had been following Jesus. In a matter of hours, everything was upended again as it was taken away from them.

Trying to avoid a death like Jesus’, the disciples were gathered and hiding. The Gospel writer of Luke says Mary Magdalene and the other women came to tell the disciples Jesus was alive, but they didn’t believe them. I can imagine them even pitying her. They wanted Jesus to be alive just as badly as she did, but they knew that people didn’t come back from crucifixion.

People didn’t come back from death.

Then these guys, whom they are somewhat familiar with, barge in and tell them Jesus is alive, and they see him on the road, and they’re probably thinking, These guys, too? They’re going to have to explain, just like they did to the ladies, that these things just don’t happen, and then …

Jesus is standing in the room with them all of a sudden.

We can chuckle at how the disciples didn’t have any faith, because our entire faith tradition is built on the fact that we know Jesus rose from the grave. But for them, they needed some evidence—especially when a person they loved, whom they saw beaten and brutally murdered, appeared in a room with them. Can you imagine? That would be hard to process and might lead to a failure to understand what was right in front of them.

Jesus’ kindness in the situation is apparent from the beginning. His sudden appearance is paired with a friendly greeting, clearly articulating that he isn’t some spirit with bad intentions. After all, many of those disciples abandoned him in one way or another during the circumstances of the crucifixion, so there would be plenty of concern if that person suddenly appeared before them. However, Jesus appeared and greeted them as a friend and then showed them he wasn’t some sort of counterfeit. He showed them the marks of his death and invited the shocked disciples to touch them. Taking it one step further, he even ate in front of them.

All these things might seem like small proofs, and the disciples were obviously shocked. This situation can appear as another miracle that seems distant from our experience of the world. The invitation, though, is to see ourselves in the story. How often do we think Jesus is there to seek vengeance? How often do we skip to skepticism despite all we’ve seen God do? How many of us need to take the chance in front of us to just be with the Lord instead of overthinking it?

One of the best parts, though, is at the end: Jesus wasn’t there to shame the disciples or claim his victory and disappear. He had more for them to do. Walking with the risen Jesus is just the beginning, and we get to partner in the kingdom to come.

Current Mood: thoughtful

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ODB: When God Opens Our Eyes

Sep 5, 2026/in Our Daily Bread/by YMI

September 5, 2026

READ: Numbers 22:22-23, 25-31

The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times?” Numbers 22:32

In thirteenth-century France, legend has it that a knight left his baby boy at home guarded by his greyhound dog Guinefort. The knight returned to find chaos-the crib overturned, his son nowhere to be seen, and his hound’s mouth covered in blood. Assuming the dog had harmed his son, he killed it. Afterward, he found the body of a large snake covered in dog bites-and his son unharmed under the cradle. Guinefort had saved the baby’s life. The dog’s heroism and unjust fate so moved people that they misguidedly revered Guinefort as a saint.

Scripture records a similar incident, in which an animal was unjustly punished for protecting its owner. The prophet Balaam had been hired by the Moabite king to curse God’s people (Numbers 22:4-6). On Balaam’s journey, an “angel of the Lord . . . with a drawn sword” (v. 23) blocked his path. Balaam’s donkey, seeing the danger, avoided the angel twice-only to be beaten for his efforts (vv. 23, 25). When the donkey could no longer evade the angel, he refused to move and was again punished (vv. 26-27).

Finally, God enabled the donkey to speak and defend itself (vv. 29-30), and then He opened Balaam’s eyes to see the angel and heed God’s instructions (v. 31-32).

We’re not likely to hear an animal talk back to us anytime soon, but God can still open our eyes in unexpected ways. When that happens, let’s be prepared to listen.

— Monica La Rose

When has God opened your eyes? How has that changed you?

Gracious God, please help me to hear and respond to Your leading.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Current Mood: thoughtful

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ODB: Junk Files

Sep 4, 2026/in Our Daily Bread/by YMI

September 4, 2026

READ: Hebrews 12:1-7, 10, 14

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Hebrews 12:1

My smartphone occasionally reminds me I’m not good at digital housekeeping. “Junk files are taking up space,” the message reads. “Delete 675MB of junk files.” Now, I dislike being nagged by my phone. But if I clean out those files, I’ve got more space for things that really matter. Then, when I’m at my daughter’s swim meet, for instance, I’ll have enough digital storage to actually shoot a video of her winning a race instead of unexpectedly realizing that those pesky “junk files” have sabotaged my ability to capture the moment.

Junk files on our phones are easy to delete. But what about the “junk files” in our souls? Like our phones, our souls can be clogged with stuff that keeps us from flourishing spiritually. The author of Hebrews understood this reality, encouraging us to pay close attention to anything that trips us up in our walk with God. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,” he writes, followed by this challenge: “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).

What weighs you down? What trips you up? Hebrews encourages us to fix “our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (v. 2), who alone can help us identify and delete the “junk files” that hinder our abundant life in Him.

— Adam R. Holz

What most trips you up in your relationship with God? How does your faith help you identify and throw off sinful influences?

Dear Father, please give me the wisdom and courage to “throw off . . . the sin that so easily entangles” me.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Current Mood: thoughtful

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Childish

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in My Name receives Me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:1-6)

Jesus’ words here are a comfort to me. All too often I am aware that I am behaving like a little child—dependent, frightened, needing help from someone greater than I am. And our world does not approve of that attitude, especially in adults.

But Jesus does! Jesus calls us to depend on Him—to throw away every reason we have for trusting in ourselves, whether that be education, power, status, or anything else—and instead, to lean wholly on Him. He is happiest when we behave like tired children in the backseat of a car their parents are driving home. What do these children normally do? Do they stay awake, anxiously monitoring their parents’ driving? Of course not! They fall asleep, nodding in their car seats—until the moment their parents lift them out of the car and carry them up to bed.

This is what Jesus wants for us—a trust that is willing to let Jesus handle all of our problems, even the silliest, even the most embarrassing. When we bring all of our problems to Him, even the smallest, we are honoring Him, because that means we trust Him to care about us and not turn us away. The Lord honors that kind of child-like faith. And we are likely to see Him do wonders we did not expect—because we matter to Him, and anything that troubles us is important in His eyes.

This is love, that God would put Himself out to care for us in even the tiniest of ways, as a good parent cares for a child. Such parents will give their lives for their children if that is necessary, and that is exactly what Jesus did for us, dying on that cross to rescue us from the power of sin, death, and the devil. But now that Jesus has completed that work and risen from the dead, He is not done taking care of us! He watches over us every single day, as carefully as you would do for a toddler of your own. We are that loved and that cared for. And so we can trust and lean on Him, even when suffering comes, even when we don’t understand what is happening in our lives and why God is allowing it. Because dependency on Jesus is what we were made for.

WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, teach me to trust You with the things I hesitate to pray about—the things that seem too small or too silly. Help me rely on You for everything, big and small. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Current Mood: thoughtful

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ODB: The Ultimate Snapshot

Sep 2, 2026/in Our Daily Bread/by YMI

September 2, 2026

READ: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Therefore we do not lose heart. 2 Corinthians 4:16

Before our trip to Switzerland, my mental snapshot was of snowy Alps, goats grazing, and mountain farmers blowing alpine horns. However, as we drove south from Zurich, the landscape was the same drab tangle of highways we saw in any city. When we got close to our lodging, we had to drive up a precarious one-lane dirt road. At our rental place, we hauled our suitcases up steep stone stairways. Exhausted and disappointed, we finally made our way onto the patio. And there, opening up before us, stretched an extraordinary vista: the Alps rising up majestically over the blue expanse of Lake Lucerne, with small towns glittering like fireflies below us. The ordeal was worth it.

I recalled the verse, “Therefore we do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The apostle Paul writes of his own struggles: “We are hard pressed on every side, but . . . not in despair” (v. 8). He reveals his positive outlook: “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (v. 17). He advises us to “fix our eyes . . . on what is unseen” (v. 18), to hope for that eternal landscape.

Sometimes our journey is drab and difficult. But in Christ, we’re assured that we’ll witness the ultimate snapshot. The ordeal will be worth it: His eternal glory far surpasses anything we can imagine.

— Kenneth Petersen

What are the difficult roads in your life these days? What does “eternal glory” mean to you?

Loving God, I need encouragement through this tough journey. I pray for assurance of Your eternal glory. For further study, read Paul’s Pain and His Passion: 2 Corinthians 5 at odbm.org.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Current Mood: hopeful

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ODB: Gathering to Grow in Christ

Sep 1, 2026/in Our Daily Bread/by YMI

September 1, 2026

READ: Acts 2:1-6, 36-37

[The believers] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

In Monterey Bay, California, a boat captain saw fifteen Pacific white-sided dolphins join a super pod of more than two thousand dolphins. Various types and ages of dolphins gather in pods to fend off predators, feed, and socialize. Still, the size and diversity of this super pod was a rare sight to behold.

The Bible records a rare gathering of diverse people that’s foundational in our faith history. As the disciples celebrated Pentecost in Jerusalem, “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). They were “filled with the Holy Spirit,” who enabled them to speak in different languages (v. 4). People God created “from every nation under heaven” had also gathered for Pentecost (v. 5). When they investigated the loud noise, each person “heard their own language being spoken” by the disciples (v. 6). Then Peter proclaimed Jesus as “both Lord and Messiah” (v. 36). About three thousand believed and were baptized (v. 41). As God’s people lived in community like never before, He “added to their number daily those who were being saved” (v. 47).

By the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s people around the world still gather to grow in community and proclaim Jesus as Lord. Through us, He will continue expanding His kingdom.

— Xochitl Dixon

How are you gathering to grow with God’s diverse people? How has He used people who are different from you to grow your faith and His church?

Dear God, please grow Your church as I gather to grow with others.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Current Mood: thoughtful

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ODB: Christ in Me

Aug 31, 2026/in Our Daily Bread/by YMI

August 31, 2026

READ: Galatians 2:19-21

I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2:20

Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer became famous for his talent at age twenty. The art critics of his day called him “the greatest mind that ever expressed itself in line.” As his fame spread, influential people tried to hire him with promises of luxury and ease. Even other acclaimed artists such as Giovanni Bellini and Raphael revered his work.

In what experts consider to be his best self-portrait, Dürer mingled his physical characteristics with what he thought Jesus might have looked like. He painted himself with long, wavy hair, a beard, and eyes that seemed to convey a sense of divine purpose. While many assumed this was the artist’s prideful opinion of himself, others who knew him believed Dürer wanted to live a life that would allow people to see Jesus in him.

If we truly know Christ, this is our desire as well. Believing in Him and accepting His death and resurrection as the basis for our relationship with God means we should now live for Jesus—not for ourselves (Galatians 2:19). We live for Him, and He lives in us and works through us. The apostle Paul said this about his spiritual transformation: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (v. 20). May the glory of Christ shine through our lives today so that the world sees Him in us.

— Jennifer Benson Schuldt

How do you feel when you sense Jesus working through you to make Himself known? What challenges prevent this from happening at times?

Father in heaven, please help me to stop living to satisfy my desires. Help me to surrender to Your Spirit so others will see Christ in me.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Current Mood: thoughtful

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ODB: God’s Rich Provision

Aug 30, 2026/in Our Daily Bread/by YMI

August 30, 2026

READ: Philippians 4:15-19

My God will meet all your needs. Philippians 4:19

After Hurricane Helene’s floodwaters nearly destroyed his small North Carolina town in 2024, a pastor noticed an inspiring pattern. As he struggled to answer the persistent question, “What do you need?” donations kept showing up exactly when he needed them. Phone chargers? Out of the blue, a man drove up with a generator, creating a charging station at the church. Drinking water? Suddenly, pallets of water bottles arrived.

Coincidence? The Bible points us to God, not mere happenstance: “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). The promise might seem empty to a town nearly demolished by a thirty-foot wall of raging water. But Paul, who was in prison when he offered this encouragement, was no stranger to hardship.

Paul was writing to the church in Philippi to thank them for badly needed financial gifts. Except for them, he’d been neglected (v. 15). But God used them to meet his needs. So His words shined a bright light on God, who provided the “riches of His glory” found in Christ Jesus our Savior, in whom we have “every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). Joy, peace, truth, and salvation are among the things He provides for us. In kindness as well, He’ll provide a drink of water too, if that’s what we need. What a loving, generous God.

— Patricia Raybon

What spiritual needs do you have today? What practical needs do you have?

I thank You, loving God, for providing my spiritual and practical needs today according to Your will and the riches of Your glory in Christ Jesus.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Current Mood: hopeful

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Jesus Has Taken Care of It All

Marisa MacVey, Youth Coordinator-Ignition (gr. 9-12), Hope WDM
Luke 23:1-43

In today’s reading, Jesus is nailed to the cross. It is on the cross that we see Jesus care for his people …

Twice in today’s reading, we see Jesus care for others while he is most vulnerable. He needed the caring, yet he cared for those around him. That is God’s radical and undeserving love for you.

On the cross, Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”(Luke 23:34).

Jesus, fully God and fully human, is experiencing the extreme pain and agony of this moment, where even taking a breath takes strength and causes immense pain, yet Jesus cries out to God, “Father, forgive them …”

Later, the two criminals next to Jesus start to speak. One mocking him says, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” (v. 39). The other criminal responds, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong” (vv. 40-41).

With reverence and repentance, the criminal continues, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom” (v. 42). And it is in this declaration of faith that Jesus cares for the criminal: “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43).

In Jesus’ most vulnerable state, he cares for those crucifying him and the criminals beside him. To the world and those crucifying Jesus, the cross is a place of defeat, death, and hatred. Yet, Jesus makes it a place of reconciliation, hope, and grace. Jesus turns what was meant for evil and makes it the place of our ultimate hope.

On the cross, we see Jesus care for his people—those there that day and you and me today. On the cross, we see Jesus enter into the pain of this world and defeat it once and for all. It is finished. It is complete. Jesus has already taken care of it all.

Current Mood: hopeful

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ODB: The Courage God Gives

Aug 28, 2026/in Our Daily Bread/by YMI

August 28, 2026

READ: 2 Samuel 23:11-12

Shammah took his stand. 2 Samuel 23:12

The CEO was hurting employees with his sharp tongue. No one dared confront him. Everyone was afraid of him, including Gene. But one day the CEO berated a new employee, reducing her to tears. When Gene saw how everyone in the room stayed silent, he spoke up.

“I told him the way he was treating people was wrong,” Gene recalls. “He was astonished; it was the first time someone stood up to him. He didn’t change, but I’m glad I spoke up.”

Scripture tells us of another man who stood up to a challenge many were afraid of. Shammah, a military warrior of David, came to the future king from difficult circumstances (see 2 Samuel 23:11-12), but God used him to defeat the Philistines. “When the Philistines banded together at . . . a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them” (v. 11). Only Shammah had the courage to defend Israel’s food supply. Being the lone man against the Philistine army meant death, but Shammah “took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it” (v. 12).

God helped Shammah defeat the Philistines (v. 12). He may have been the only Israelite in the field, but he wasn’t alone—God was with him, giving him great victory that day. There may be times when we’re called to stand up to a challenge that everyone else is avoiding. Like Shammah, let’s take our stand, relying on God’s presence and help.

— Karen Huang

What challenge is God calling you to stand up to? How can you rely on Him for help?

Dear Father, please give me the courage to take a stand for You.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Current Mood: thoughtful

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ODB: Where God Reigns

Aug 27, 2026/in Our Daily Bread/by YMI

August 27, 2026

READ: James 4:1-10

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

In 2018, a man checked into a room at New York hotel for a one-night stay. Remarkably, he used the room for five years without paying another cent—exploiting obscure rent laws to hold on to it. His refusal to leave, however, eventually led to potential prison time for him.

Like an unwelcome tenant who overstays, James warns us that the devil lingers in our lives when left unchecked. “Resist the devil,” James writes, “and he will flee from you” (4:7). The apostle emphasizes that our struggles often come from impure “desires” and “wrong motives” (vv. 1, 3)—things like pride, divided loyalties, and impure thoughts residing in our hearts. To counter such temptation, James offers two commands: “submit . . . to God” and “resist the devil” (v. 7). To submit means surrendering every part of our lives to God. Resisting the devil is equally active, requiring prayer, vigilance, and the wisdom of Scripture.

Like a landlord evicting an unlawful tenant, in God’s strength we can refuse to let the temptation of the devil overtake us. As we resist him, God promises victory as James asserts, “He will flee from you” (v. 7).

When we evict sin and the devil’s influence and “come near to God” (v. 8), we allow His peace, joy, and purpose to dwell more fully in us. The enemy can’t stay where God reigns!

— Marvin Williams

What can you do to remove “unwelcome tenants” from your life? How does submitting to God help?

Sovereign God, please help me surrender every part of my life to You so I can stand firm against the enemy's schemes.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Current Mood: thoughtful

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ODB: Power of Consistent Prayer

Aug 26, 2026/in Our Daily Bread/by YMI

August 26, 2026

READ: Daniel 6:3-7, 9-11

Three times a day [Daniel] got down on his knees, and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel 6:10

Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington encouraged a group of young actors to begin each day with prayer, suggesting they “put your shoes way under the bed at night” to ensure they “gotta get on your knees in the morning.”

Developing a regular habit of prayer might take some thoughtful and even creative planning, but it’s a practice that has sustained God’s people throughout history—especially in difficult times. We see this in the life of Daniel, who served in King Darius’ administration. He quickly distinguished himself as the top government advisor, which angered local officials (Daniel 6:3). Out of jealousy they plotted to oust the prophet, but quickly realized the only charge that would stick was related to Daniel’s devotion to the “the law of his God” (v. 5). Even after the officials tricked the king into making it illegal for Daniel to pray, Daniel still “got down on his knees, and prayed . . . just as he had done before” (v. 10).

A consistent prayer life was essential for Daniel to experience God’s sustaining strength and peace (Psalm 29:11). It helped him to triumph over the forces seeking to destroy him. In the same way, establishing a regular time to meet with God in prayer and making it a daily priority can help cultivate our relationship with Him. During each difficulty we face, it’s His strength that will sustain us.

— Lisa M. Samra

How has a regular pattern of prayer sustained you in difficulty? What example of prayer in the Bible encourages you?

Loving Father, please give me Your strength and mercy each morning.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Current Mood: thoughtful

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June 2012

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Javabeans!

Reading

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries: 8 September 2026

Believing Our Forgiveness

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries: 7 September 2026

So Far

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Church of Hope: [From] 4 September 2026

Presence, Proof, & God Being God

YMI -- ODB: 5 September 2026

ODB: When God Opens Our Eyes

YMI -- ODB: 4 September 2026

ODB: Junk Files

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries: 3 September 2026

Childish

YMI -- ODB: 2 September 2026

ODB: The Ultimate Snapshot

YMI -- ODB: 1 September 2026

ODB: Gathering to Grow in Christ

YMI -- ODB: 31 August 2026

ODB: Christ in Me

YMI -- ODB: 30 August 2026

ODB: God’s Rich Provision

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Church of Hope: [From] 28 August 2026

Jesus Has Taken Care of It All

YMI -- ODB: 28 August 2026

ODB: The Courage God Gives

YMI -- ODB: 27 August 2027

ODB: Where God Reigns

YMI -- ODB: 26 August 2026

ODB: Power of Consistent Prayer

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June 2012

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