Why does God allow tragedy? Can God bring good from incomprehensible loss? How should we pray during times of great suffering? These are the type of questions Lucado tries to answer in 80 smalla pages.

The power of prayer … does not depend on the one who makes the prayer but on the one who hears the prayer.

The primary theme of this book is simply: God is sovereign and He loves you. It has never taken me this long to read so few words. Don’t get me wrong; the langage used in this book is simple. Short, punchy sentences maintain a rapid pace, and carries you along each page so rapidly, you could almost fail to notice how little substance there actually is. Almost.

Part of me enjoyed reading each chapter, but another part could not help but see this book as a waste of time. That part of me made it almost impossible to finish reading it, as short as it is. There are certainly some gems to be found, and I agree with the central message. I’m sure that many people will find this book encouraging and enjoyable. However, I doubt that those who are really suffering, those who are in terrible pain, in deed, those whom this book is ostensibly aimed at, will find much comfort here.