Does God Hear Us?

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all of their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
Psalm 34:17-18

I have been praying fervently for a dear friend over the last few days. I keep asking myself how can they continue to go on. How much can one family take? Are my prayers of any use? I found the above verse on another person blog. I believe the whole Bible so He does hear us and is close to us. I have to admit since I have extra time on my hands I have been reading some other people blogs. The above mentioned blog has had me glued. This particular family went through a very dramatic event of knowing they were going to lose their child to illness very soon after she was born. Here is something she posted a few weeks later.
"God Himself chose this to happen. Trust me, that is not the easiest sentence I have ever written, because I am human, and I am a grieving mother. I know that none of this is a surprise to Him. That doesn't mean we don't feel every bit of the loss, or that we just go about our lives because it's all okay now. It just means that we are steady in the belief that God knows what we don't, and none of this changes Who He is. None of it."
Do I have this type of faith? Would I be able to be so steadfast in who God is if I was faced with life threatening illness for myself of any of my family members. Even though God is not answering my prayers in the timing I would like I know that he is close to those who are hurting because he says he is and we can trust what he says.