“All those years of prayer. That mountain of prayer!” These were the words of a member of our community who recently lost an adult child. Taken out of context, they might be understood as a complaint; even an accusation: “All those prayers… and this is how God responds!” But that wasn’t how they were meant. In reality, these words were a testament to her hope: “All those prayers… surely they were not for nothing. Surely God would not have allowed them to be without effect.”