rder
in the universe and, therefore, expects from prayer also miraculous
effects on life. As the Deity can suddenly send or withhold rain or
drought, barrenness or birth, life or death, so the inference is that the
man of God can do the same with his prayer. This is the point of view of
the Biblical and Talmudic periods, as well as of the entire ancient world.
It seems almost childish to our religious consciousness when, according to
Talmudic tradition, the high priest petitioned God in the Sanctuary on the
Day of Atonement for a year rich in rain and blessed with sunshine and
with dew, and at the same time expressed the entreaty that the prayers of
travelers for dry or cool weather should find no hearing.(857) That the
prayers of the pious may alter God's decree is not doubted for a moment by
the rabbis; only they insist that God has taken into account beforehand
the efficacy of this prayer in deciding the fate of the pious, in order
that they may petition for that which He actually plans to do. "God longs
for the prayer of the pious"; for that reason, they say, the Mothers of
Israel were afflicted with barrenness, until the prayers of the Patriarchs
had accomplished the transformation in their constitutions.(858) On the
other hand, the rabbis warn against excessive pondering over prayer and
its efficacy, as through it that childlike faith would be weakened, which
is the basis of all prayer.(859)

3. According to the rabbinic viewpoint, prayer has the power to reverse
every heavenly decree, inasmuch as it appeals from the punitive justice of
God, which has decided thus, to His attributes of grace and mercy, which
can at any time effect a change. When the prophet Isaiah came to King
Hezekiah with the message: "Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die,"
he replied, "Finish thy message and go; I have received the tradition from
my royal ancestor David that, even when the sword already touches the
neck, man shall not desist from an appeal to the divine mercy."(860) Nay
more, the rabbis believed that God Himself prays, saying, "Oh, that My
mercy shall prevail over My justice!"(861) Only after the divine judgment
has been executed prayer becomes vain. In general, the entire Talmudic
period ascribed miraculous power to prayer, especially the prayers of the
pious, like the popular saint Onias or Hanina ben Dosa.(862) In many such
cases the invocation of God was combined with the use of the sacred name,
the tetragrammaton, t