I just spoke to a friend of mine, whose faith is much stronger than mine. He told me the following, which makes so much sense:

1) maybe I'm having problems with my apartment because God wants me to move out my apartment and into a better place;
2) maybe I'll get laid off from my job because God wants me to work on the two novels that I started and never finished;
3) I don't know what God's plan is for my life, but I'm not helping myself any if I fight and fear the changes in my life, which in the end may be better than what I've got in my life right now;
4) personal growth techniques can only take you so far, but so much of it depends on your own inner strength. But what if sometimes your strength gives out? That's where faith comes in. God is so much stronger than we are. It's like when you're watching a scary movie, and you get so caught up in the movie and you get all scared because you forget you're watching a movie. God can help you step back, and remind you that it's only a movie. Your faith in God can help you step back and see options that you hadn't thought of before, or see roads that you thought were closed to you.

Thank god for my friend whose faith is way stronger than mine. I also went to the Wednesday night prayer service, and it was a healing service. I don't usually ask for healing, but I went up last night and asked that my living situation be prayed for. The prayer thing totally works! I only do it when I'm totally desperate which isn't very often, but the few times I've done it, my situation either radically improved or my outlook completely changed. Prayer definitely works!