o which magical powers were ascribed.(863)

4. The two attributes of God, Justice and Mercy, correspond to the double
nature of mankind, as the sinful man, who deserves punishment, is called
to account by the former, while the righteous man may appeal to the
latter. Accordingly, the efficacy of prayer could be so explained that,
before it can influence the decision of God, it demands the reformation of
man. While the unregenerate man meets an evil destiny, the reformed man
has become a different being, and hence instead of justice mercy will
control his fate. Albo pleads for this view of prayer, when he cites the
Talmudic incident about R. Meir. It is said that R. Meir interceded for
the people of Mimla, who all seemed to have been doomed to die on
attaining manhood because they inherited the curse of the priestly family
of Eli.(864) But he also recommended to them that they should devote their
lives to worthy deeds, as it is said in the Proverbs:(865) "The hoary head
is a crown of glory, it is found in the way of righteousness."(866)

Other thinkers ascribe to prayer the power to change the fate determined
by the stars, because it exalts man into a higher sphere of godliness,
exactly like the spirit of prophecy. Of course, this conception is
connected with the belief in astrology, which swayed even clear thinkers
like Ibn Ezra.(867)

5. According to our modern thinking there can be no question of any
influence upon a Deity exalted above time and space, omniscient,
unchangeable in will and action, by the prayer of mortals. Prayer can
exert power only over the relation of man to God, not over God Himself.
This indicates the nature and purpose of prayer. Man often feels lonely
and forlorn in a world which overpowers him, to which he feels superior,
and yet which he cannot master. Therefore he longs for that unseen Spirit
of the universe, with whom alone he feels himself akin, and in whom alone
he finds peace and bliss amid life's struggle and unrest. This longing is
both expressed and satisfied in prayer. Following the natural impulse of
his soul, man must pour out before his God all his desires and sighs, all
the emotions of grief and delight which sway his heart, in order that he
may find rest, like a child at its mother's bosom. Therefore the childlike
mind believes that God can be induced to come down from His heavenly
heights to offer help, and that He can be moved and influenced in human
fashion. The truth is that