Whilst, however, insisting on the belief in the efficacy of prayer, our Sages teach us that it would be wrong to expect that every petition uttered before God must be granted. We pray to the Almighty, being convinced that it is in His power to grant what we pray for; but we must trust in the wisdom and mercy of God, that the rejection of our petition is also for our good. “He is near to all those who call on him, to all those that call on him in truth,” who continue to trust in Him and His goodness even when their wishes are not fulfilled. It would be almost equal to superstition to believe that any words, however earnest and devout, uttered by us will infallibly have the desired effect. The Mishnah (Aboth ii. 13) therefore teaches: ‏אל תעש תפלתך קבע אלא רחמים ותחנונים‎ “Do not make thy prayer a fixed claim or demand, which must be fulfilled, but a supplication for mercy, which may or may not be granted.” The belief that the prayer will undoubtedly be fulfilled is denounced in the Talmud as ‏עיון תפלה‎ “Looking out with certainty for the effect of the prayer.” [22] Since the principal object of prayer is the granting of our petitions, prayer will be superfluous when no wants will any longer be felt, ‏לעתיד לבוא התפלות בטלות‎ “In future prayers will be discontinued;” only ‏תפלת תודה אינה בטלה לעולם‎ “The prayer of thanksgiving will never be discontinued.” “In the enjoyment of the purest blessings our feelings of gratitude will never die out” (Yalkut on Ps. lvi.). Rabbi Joseph Albo, in the book Ikkarim, says (IV. xvi.): “Although Prayer is not one of the principles of our Torah, it is intimately connected with the belief in Providence, and every one who believes in Providence ought to believe in the efficacy of prayer. For he who does not pray to God in time of trouble either does not believe in Divine Providence, or if he does believe, he doubts whether God is able to supply his wants; in both cases man is an unbeliever. It is also possible that a person who believes in Divine Providence and in God’s Omnipotence doubts whether he deserves that his prayer should be granted—a feeling of humility which ought indeed to fill the heart of every person—but this idea must not prevent him altogether from praying to God concerning his wants. If he does not pray from this reason, he may believe in God’s justice, but he does not believe in His mercy and kindness. It is also contrary to the teaching of the Bible. ‘Not relying on our righteousness do we offer our supplication before you, but on your great mercy!’ For the benefits bestowed by God on His creatures are acts of love, not of recompense.... Man receives benefits, whether he is entitled to them or not, because prayer gives him a qualification which he does not possess by nature, and enables him to receive such good things as could not be obtained from any other being or through any other means....