Hopelessness. I encountered it in an embittered man who told me, "Don't try to convert me and don't pray for me. When I die, the only place I'll go is 6 feet under."

That man needed hope. People like him who are ready to give up can find it. It's only a prayer away.

A pastor met a mother of three small children while visiting a hospital. Her husband was dying of injuries received in a car accident, and she had no one to turn to for help. As the pastor explained God's plan of salvation, she listened intently. Then she joined him in prayer and put her trust in Jesus. She still didn't know how things would work out, but her prayer of faith had given her hope. Now, through new Christian friends, God is taking care of her.

In Lamentations 2, the situation appeared hopeless. Jerusalem's streets were littered with the bodies of victims slain by the invading Babylonians. No food was available for the people who remained. But the few survivors heeded the prophet's call to repentance and prayer (v.19). We know from history that conditions improved and the exile came to an end.

Do your circumstances appear hopeless? Take heart! As long as you have a prayer, you have real hope.  — Herbert Vander Lugt