Have you ever tried to "help God out" when you thought he couldn't possibly help you in the way you wanted? What was the result?

I don't think I would have thought about it as trying to "help God out".  Yes, I do pray to him a lot, but I've never said antything like "I'll do this more often if you help me to earn something."  I think that when you pray about something, you should just let God take care of it.  There's absolutely no need to help him!  I believe that when someone prays in the fashion that I made an example of above, you are not necessarily going to get what you want, unless you pray in the right fashion.