{"id":60235,"date":"2019-07-28T15:50:54","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T12:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=60235"},"modified":"2023-02-20T14:27:23","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T12:27:23","slug":"doing-their-best-joabs-peculiar-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/doing-their-best-joabs-peculiar-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Their Best: Joab\u2019s Peculiar Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[375,384,437],"acf":{"old_id":"60235","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34250,"related_cahpter":"273","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Encouraging, inspiring, and building the reserves of faith","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Preparing to face down an Ammonite-Aramean alliance, Joab strategizes carefully with his brother and fellow commander, Abishai, and then offers these words of encouragement: \u201cLet us be strong and resolute for the sake of our people and the land of our God; and the Lord <em>ya\u2019aseh<\/em>, will do what He deems right\u201d (10:12).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Joab\u2019s words call to mind one version of a brief prayer the Talmud recommends one use when in a dangerous situation: \u201cCarry out Your will in the heavens above, and give peace of mind to those who fear You below, and perform that which is good in Your eyes\u2026\u201d (Berachot 29b). One might argue such a prayer expresses the ultimate faith in God: rather than articulating a long list of the things we think we want God to give or do for us, we simply acknowledge that He knows best and submit ourselves to His will.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, this shortened formula is recommended only in specific situations, while the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amidah <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prayer recited multiple times on a typical day contains no less than 13 different topics of request, not to mention optional paragraphs in which one might articulate further personal prayers. Generally speaking, we pray to God as if we know very well what we want Him to do \u2013 and surely Joab too felt strongly that he wanted God to help them win that battle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taking another look at Joab\u2019s words, we might note that the Hebrew future tense, <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ya\u2019aseh<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, is ambiguous: Is Joab <\/span><b>asking<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for God to do as He sees fit, or expressing confidence that He <\/span><b>will<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">? If the latter \u2013 as indicated by the fact that he is apparently addressing Abishai, not God \u2013 then we are not talking about prayer in the conventional sense, but part of a pep talk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the complex interplay between faith and personal human effort, Joab encourages his brother, and himself, to do their best \u2013 and at the same time, he expresses confidence that things will turn out however God deems best, perhaps <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in order <\/span><\/em><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> bolster his and his brother\u2019s strength and resolve as they go out to fight. After all, danger can be paralyzing; the assurance that not everything depends on us can help provide the peace of mind necessary to act.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And ultimately, perhaps that is what prayer \u2013 especially in a dangerous situation \u2013 truly is: not (just) an attempt to get God to do what we want, but an opportunity to reflect and build the reserves of faith necessary to face the world, to go out and do whatever we can ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":60237,"id":60237,"title":"2sam10-prayer","filename":"2sam10-prayer.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam10-prayer.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/doing-their-best-joabs-peculiar-prayer\/2sam10-prayer\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam10-prayer","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":60235,"date":"2019-07-28 13:16:44","modified":"2021-11-09 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