Somehow, Sometime, Somewhere...

As part of our year of discovery, we attended a speaker at the Phoenix Community Kollel. Rabbi Yissocher Frand spoke about the power of prayer, on the topic of "Does G-d Hear Our Prayers?"
The evening was thought provoking and we have discussed prayer many times since. The summary of his talk was that, if you pray, it is heard, but may not be answered as you wish. But, somehow, sometime, somewhere it will be answered.
If you pray for healing for someone that is ill, they may not get better. But that prayer may benefit someone else in need of healing, so praying is encouraged as you just never know when it will be answered, but it will...
It is kind of like your prayer goes into a giant stewpot and is dished out sometime, somehow, somewhere. I guess it is good because prayer allows us to focus, stop what we are doing and think powerful, positive, appreciative thoughts. You could certainly benefit someone, in some fashion. It also makes you think about what form prayer takes -- is it structured? formal? individualized? I guess it is all of the above and more.