The three keys

Death toll from French floods continues to rise

Deadly floods kill twenty in north-east Brazil

Toll in China flood rises to 147

Death toll from Myanmar floods, landslides hits 63

GOD'S THREE KEYS

Eliyahu prayed that God give him the key of the resurrection of the dead, but he was told from Heaven: Three keys were never entrusted to a messenger but remained with God, namely: the key of childbirth, the key of rain, and the key of the resurrection of the dead. You already have the key of rain, and you [also] want the key of the resurrection of the dead? It will be said that two keys are held by the disciple and one by the Master! Give back the key of rain, and take the key of the resurrection of the dead. Accordingly, after Eliyahu revived the widow’s son, the biblical text states (Melakhim I 18:1): “Go, appear before Achav; then I will send rain,” because he had to return the key of rain and stop the drought (Sanhedrin 113a).
This fascinating gemara relates that three keys are usually held by God alone: those of childbirth, rain, and resurrection. The common factor between these three keys is that they each represent the keys of life and death. Human birth and the resurrection of the dead are quite obviously issues of giving or creating new life. However, the rain also shares this central feature in that it determines who will live and who will die.
http://vbm-torah.org/archive/melakhim/22melakhim.htm

An article on Fox News described how "state senators in Louisiana have designated Sunday as a day of prayer aimed at seeking an end to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster."
One of the comments posted was, "Prayer? What a nation of hypocrites - the only time prayer is acceptable is when we are in need. No wonder our nation is no longer blessed."
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/20/gulf-solution-sight-lousiana-turns-prayer/

Hashem is there for us to turn to, in both good times and bad. And it is Hashem who holds the three keys that determine who will live and who will die.