'Two of my friends just died, and I’m devastated. But I know God understands'

Prayer is central in all that we do but at times of agony it matters more than ever, says Michael Coren

Last week was not kind.

Within the space of 24 hours two of my friends died, both with a suddenness that chilled me.

One was 69 years-old but robust, healthy, and always so full of enthusiasm and determination. I’m so grateful that I visited Britain from my home in Toronto last December and saw him twice. One of those occasions was a long, exquisite lunch in a Turkish restaurant. That will be my invincible memory but I am shaken to the core.

The other was a mere 33. Painfully and unfairly young. I remember her as a baby, she knew my two daughters, and was the same age as one of them. I also gave her a job on a television station where I once hosted a show, not because of who she was but because she was so funny, clever, kind, and mischievous. Oh, her poor parents, her poor friends and family.