Like millions of others I was delighted to hear of the successful rescue of the twelve helpless schoolboys and their equally hapless coach from that cave in Thailand

I still don’t know why they decided to enter that subterranean world but I’m sure of one thing: their rescue was another reminder that human beings are capable of the most extraordinary acts of courage and self sacrifice.

But was it an answer to prayer as many believers have been claiming, or was it just luck? (One report suggested the first diver to find them merely surfaced because he had reached the end of the rope, whilst in another he said it was because he could smell them!).

People often talk of luck. But what do we mean by that much used word? One dictionary definition says luck is “the force that causes things, especially good things, to happen to you by chance and not as a result of your own efforts or abilities”. Yet another reckons it is “the force that causes things to happen without any known cause or reason for doing so”. But what kind of force?

People often talk of coincidence too. But that is not all that helpful either because coincidence is a descriptive word that simply tells us something we knew all along: two or more things took place at the same time.

Given all this I see no reason to feel embarrassed to suggest that God listens to the prayers of His people. As one former Archbishop of Canterbury told his critics who said prayer was nothing more than coincidence

“When I pray, coincidences happen; when I don’t, they don’t.” And so I think I’ll keep on praying. It certainly makes for a more exciting life. As some of us have found out recently as we have experienced what we would say are “some amazing answers to prayer”.

But, and it’s a very important but, I have to confess that like many others I do not always experience “amazing answers” to my prayers. I was reminded of that when listening to Tia Coleman talking about the death of nine members of her family when an amphibious "duck boat" sank in stormy weather in the US state of Missouri.

She prayed too. As she said “I just remember kicking and swimming up to the top, and I was praying,” Coleman said.

“I said, Lord, ‘Please let me get to my babies. I got to get to my babies.” But they died just as many others did in those tragic fires in Greece.

So what can we say when faced with situations like this? Well, like well known Christian James Dobson I would be the first to admit that there are times “When God Doesn’t Make Sense”. All we can do is “hang on in there” believing that “We can trust Him even when our difficult circumstances are beyond human comprehension. We can rest in His promise ‘The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”.

I am sure Tia Coleman would be the first to agree with Dobson too, if Mark Alesia’s report in the Indianapolis Star is correct.

“Faith was a consistent theme in her answers to reporters’ questions” he writes. “Someone asked if she could find a reason for what happened, “It’s not a thinking matter for me. I tried it,” she said. “It’s something I can’t comprehend, I can’t explain. I don’t have the capacity to understand it. The only thing is, God must have something for me because there’s no way I should be here.”

Now that’s what I call faith.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]