Something happens when life changes suddenly. Life looks different than it used to. Values change; conversations change; perspectives shift. We use our time differently. People become much more precious to us than possessions. Ordinary moments become charged with significance and with the energy of eternity. Prayer weaves its way into this tapestry, creating moments of reflection and gratitude. Prayer becomes a spiritual velcro to which other things stick. What seems to be a loss on one level gets transformed into gain on another level. Prayer enables us to see every moment as a gift and as an occasion to be cherished.

(Steve Harper, Talking in the Dark, p. 84) 

We do not have to have health restored in order to have hope. We do not have to cling desperately to life in this world when we see life in relationship to the world to come. This life is not all that there is. More awaits us, and prayer makes it possible for us to catch a glimpse of eternal life. Prayer becomes a means of grace that enables us to loosen our had on time so we can put our hands on eternity.

(Steve Harper, Talking in the Dark, p. 85)