[Avodah] efficacy of prayer

[SBA]

From: "Eli Turkel" < >
My wife spoke this morning with a former terrorist victim (lost
husband and 2 sons). She asked my wife that thursday morning there was a
public prayer at the kotel with important rabbis. That night was the tragedy
at yeshivat hakotel. What good is all these prayers?
What do you answer this woman?
>>

Nebach. Chazal tell  us not to console mourners  when meiso mutel lefonov
(or something like that). The whole of klall Yisroel was in such a state
last Friday.

The only thing I could think of (besides the fact that nistorim darkei
Hashem and we really haven't got a clue) was what I have seen prepeated many
times ny the mother of terror victim Nachshon Wachsman HYD:

"...My husband's greatest concern when burying his son was that there would
be a crisis in faith. And so he asked Rabbi Elon to tell everyone that just
as father would always like to say "yes" to all of his children's requests,
but sometimes he had to say "no" though the child might not understand why,
so too our Father in Heaven heard our prayers, and though we don't
understand why, His answer was "no."

http://www.ou.org/yerushalayim/yomhazikaron/wachsman.htm