If we are honest, we may come to the point in life where we ask, “Why pray?” We may ask, “Does it really make any difference?” “If God is a good God, a faithful God, a merciful God, a God who heals, is he really in control of all things?” It is very easy to move from hope to cynicism in the world in which we live. Paul Miller writes, “Cynicism kills hope. The world of the cynic is fixed and is immovable. The cynic believes we are swept along by forces greater than we are. Dreaming feels like so much foolishness. Risk becomes intolerable. Prayer feels pointless, as if we are talking to the wind. Why set ourselves and God up for failure.”

We must lean into God during these times of difficulty. We must believe he is in control, he is at work in all the details of my life. We must believe that he is loving, he is shaping the details of my life for my good. We must believe that God is wise, he will not do everything I want because he alone knows what I need. We must embrace the fact that he is patient, he is going to take time to do all of this. In his time he will accomplish his ultimate purpose in my life. Miller concludes, “If you are going to enter this divine dance we call prayer, you have to surrender your desire to be in control.”