Interaction with God is not defined by principles and formulas. God is a personal being. Therefore, in prayer, we do not have a means for obtaining clarity from God, but rather an avenue for expressing relationship with him. This is troubling to us. We would prefer that in our prayers God meet us with clear explanations about why certain events are happening in our lives or about how best to navigate through them. What he most often meets us with instead is silence. God listens to our prayers. He hears us. But the language of his answers is a mysterious tongue from a far-off country inaudible to the natural ear. We must learn to hear him. And the discomfort and discipline required for that process tempts us to abandon personal relationship for mechanistic principles. It is so much easier to receive God as a list of decrees than it is to engage him as friend and Father. It is so much more comfortable to explain theology than it is to know this untamed God.