Semi, Regarding prayer that seemingly is unanswered or that seems to have no effect, as if someone dies or our prayer is not answered in the way we ask for it to be answered, those are sometimes the most difficult times to handle. Handle as a friend and handle as the person desiring the answer to prayer..
When I have been confronted, talking to a person about that, sometimes I have to honestly just say I really don't know. One of the most difficult times I have had is when talking to a family that lost a two year old Child in an Automobile accident. Answering why sometimes bad things happen to good people or why at times good things seem to happen to the most undeserving.
For one, as with the last statement I made, those are personal judgments I try not to make, about who is deserving and who is not. I think in times of severe Grief, over a death, as with a friend, just being there to listen and comfort is the most you can do as being human sometimes we don't have sufficient answers to the most difficult questions. It is reasonable and rational to wonder why God doesn't answer a person's prayer. Believe me I honestly do believe there are answers to the questions and reasons God does not intervene at times. I can't say that the answers are not always easy either.
Sometimes the most difficult thing to do, when it happens to you or so close to home, is to attempt to look at things from God's perspective, something naturally and humanly we cannot really hope to do. For instance, IF God is eternal (past and future) as I believe He is and that Scripture teaches, then time drops out of the equation. If, as the Scripture says one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day then from God's perspective, in the scope of eternity there is no difference between the death (time wise) of a two year old and a ninety year old. Humanly and as far as we are concerned there is a vast difference especially for those of us left to cope with the loss or the disease, as in cases of cancer. It is not fair and it seems so tragic. To simply say It's God's Will is no sufficient answer, at least I have found. Often the answer is only revealed over time and in a time period.
What I have always tried to say, and relate, is that like with many things we will not know until we look at things with the benefit of Time. That doesn't mean time makes it any better or different, as far as humanly coping with a difficult situation or with pain of sickness or death but it gives us the ability to consider with a more rational mind, at times. The loss or pain isn't any better, for some, but sometimes our ability and willingness to listen and talk to God is greater and less effected by the circumstances.
Those answers that are often not there aren't guaranteed to be there later in time either but our willingness to consider listening to God is at times better and more available. It is my belief that only God, through His Holy Spirit can give a person peace and comfort and answer that which seemingly has no answers. Often we are not wanting to hear those answers either. I could share some personal instances but I don't care to openly and publicly but if you want to know I don't mind to dialog about it.