Prayers - the instant cure?

I was reading this for the past few days (courtesy of Derk), and I found it genuinely interesting, though terribly long in length. A truthful search for the "efficacy of prayer", as the essay is titled.

It talks about prayer as a request, meaning that whether God grants us what we want, is totally up to Him. It is the same as an appeal. We make appeals to court cases, and we also make appeals to our UTAR management. However, the final decision still lies with the upper management, in this case it would be God.

With such an ambiguous percentage of getting our requests answered in a favorable way, what then is the purpose of prayer? Something we can think about.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

We are asked in this verse not only to pray, but to pray with thanksgiving. What are we supposed to be giving thanks about when firstly, we are not even sure if what we pray for will be granted?

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I have a friend. His mother had cancer, when it was announced, it was a 4th stage cancer. If my science is correct, that is also called terminal cancer. We prayed fervently, we cried and we pleaded. How could a mother be taken back to heaven when her child is still so young? Then the second opinion from another doctor said that he could not scan the cancer cells. Hallelujah!

We continued to pray, to press on, until we can see a complete healing. However, things started to turn into a roller coaster ride here. The cancer cells started appearing and disappearing, making us, the people praying, in a tug-of-war with the forces of darkness.

In the end, the mother of two died. Are His ways still higher than our ways?

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I have a pastor. He suddenly had a stroke. Apparently the arteries broke in his brain. The brain was experiencing severe pressure due to the accumulated blood, even his eyes were on the verge of bulging out. Doctors gave him a 1% chance of recovery, but told the pastor's wife that chances are slim, just to make things sound milder.

The church prayed, pleaded, and fought for his life. He survived, and in barely 6 months he is able to walk and talk already. The church is even looking forward to the day that he can continue to stand at the pulpit, preaching.

Does this mean that His ways are higher than our ways now?

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I believe in all occasions God works for the unity of His body. My friend's family was brought closer together, when in the past the family has very little reason nor time to come together. My pastor's "mishap" brought together brothers and sisters in Christ from far and wide, current and in the long past. In all these God was working.

God may not relief some of us from our pain now, but we can be sure to know that God is in control, doing His good work to completion.