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I am out of any semblance of creativity tonight. As I'm sure many of you feel too, all of the stuff surrounding the last week has been, and is, exhausting. I'm so thankful that there is a God who never wearies of caring for me and for the whole world. I often begin prayers with thanksgiving that each day is a day when the mercies of God are new to us. That comes from Scripture, Lamentations 3.

So many people think of the Bible as just a rulebook. It's the furthest thing from that; it is—more than anything else—the story of God's redemptive actions throughout history, of His justice and mercy. And part of His mercy is that He Himself provides for His people when they're tapped out, when they've got nothing left in the tank. Even when they feel like they can't even pray, He Himself provides for them.

The Psalms make up the prayerbook of ancient Israel, as they prayed in poetry and song. They give voice to the whole range of human emotions, and yet are always grounded in the hope that comes from God's mercy and faithfulness. If you feel lost to pray, open the Psalms. And there are many other prayers in Scripture that you can use to give voice to your prayers. It's not a bas thing to use God's own Word to pray to Him; you're not disappointing Him if you can't come up with pithy, witty, elegant, and eloquent words to bring before Him. In fact, He invites you to use His own Word, just as Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray (Luke

So I leave virtually nothing of my own with you tonight, only the Word of God from Lamentations 3:

Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
   the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it
   and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
   and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
   his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
   “therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
   to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
   for the salvation of the Lord.
—Lamentations 3:19-26