God might answer our prayers in mysterious ways

There seem to be two schools of thought: one tells us that prayers, chants and songs must be regimented. Each word, pause and tone matters; the other school of thought tells us that God values spontaneous prayers more than the regimented prayers. That’s when our thoughts, intentions and words are the most authentic. They express the true depth of our relationship with the Creator. When we pray to God and want nothing in return, some say it’s the purest form of prayer there is and the kind of prayer that’s most valued by God. We, of course, don’t know what God’s preference is, if any. I mean, I understand there are many who are convinced that they know what kind of prayers God wishes to hear but, seems to me, switching between regimented and spontaneous prayers from time to time is perfectly alright.

Prayer is a form of gratitude. At its core, it’s thanking and praising God. The language is elaborate and ceremonial but, at its core, praying is about being thankful to God. When, as some believe, a woman’s prayer is worth less to God, does it mean she must show gratitude more to be heard by God? It seems profoundly perplexing, particularly when so many women display patriotism and bravery in battle. It would mean there’s what we could call God’s glass ceiling. A profoundly perplexing and somewhat amusing concept (well, not so amusing for those affected by it), but God works in mysterious ways.

Unearthing ancient artifacts and documents can be seen as a form of God answering our prayers in a roundabout way. Besides, a nation needs a higher purpose and those who ridicule digging (literally) into the past, don’t understand how important such endeavors are for  national narratives. And every nation on the planet has some kind of a narrative.

In Israel’s aniconic tradition no visible image or statue can represent God. It makes sense to me, as I call God a self-aware infinity. It’s a paradox: ascribing human characteristics to God is presumptous, but, at the same time, our understanding of God is limited by our minds, even if we happen to have genius intellects, it’s infinitely limited compared to the Creator. There’s no reason to claim God has a particular form. It certainly isn’t needed for prayer and, in fact, might distort it.

The Hebrew phrase “Yimakh shemo” (יִמַּח שְׁמוֹ), meaning “may his name be erased,” is a curse placed after the name of particular enemies of the Jewish people, with “Amalek” being one such enemy. Clearly, the name Amalek hasn’t been erased. As such, we can theorize that God doesn’t want that name erased for some reason. The prayers to erase the name Amalek haven’t been answered and God has a reason for it that we are likely going to be made aware of one day.

When praying to God to destroy or demean the enemy (Psalm 83), or both, as destruction and humiliation are concurrent, it’s vital to remember that the Creator works in mysterious ways and our prayer doesn’t need to be answered in a linear, black-and-white, way. Why would it? God is infinitely complex and can answer our prayers when He wishes to in ways He wishes to. Or He might as well ignore our prayers if we bombard Him with requests every five seconds.

God blesses the chosen and curses the enemies. The curse can be placed on a nation or individuals, or individuals from a particular nation, and it doesn’t mean the effects of that curse are going to be visible right there and then.

I’ve been watching how the world works and while I wouldn’t dare to say I can read the mind of God, it’s my belief that, in some cases, God’s curses might manifest in the next life. One can call it karma, but I prefer God’s punitive plan.

Erasing the defeated and demeaned enemy from existence and ensuring his name is forgotten is, one could say, always an option, but converting the enemy and turning the former enemy into a valuable asset is an even better strategy and, dare I say, punishment. The enemy’s name is not only forgotten but he is integrated into a society or civilization of those he used to despise or still secretly despises but is unable to do anything about it as the defeated party. The national narrative (as each nation has a story it tells itself and others) of the defeated is forcibly reformed to match the new reality.

That, seems to me, is the ultimate victory and God’s blessing for Israel. But how that victory is going to come about, it’s just like with prayers – only God truly knows the full picture.

Whatever God decides, individuals and nations won’t be able to escape His judgment, be it in this life or possibly the next. It’s best to start preparing for whatever God’s plan or punishment might be now, as one can’t avoid God’s grand design.

We’ll only know when we are allowed to see the full picture by the Creator.