The twelve paths of the sea and of prayer

"The Children of Israel came into the  sea on dry land; and the water was a wall for them, on their right and on their left.".

After Hashem bombarded the Egyptians with ten hard-hitting plagues, they were forced to release the Jews from bondage. One week later, the Egyptians regretted releasing them and sent one of the most massive armies ever assembled to bring back the freed slaves. The Egyptians finally caught up with the Jews at the Red Sea. 

The Jews found themselves trapped between the massive Egyptian army and the sea with no avenue of escape. So they "cried out to Hashem". (Shemot 14:10) Their prayer altered nature, the Red Sea split into twelve different corridors, enabling each of the twelve tribes to traverse the sea on dry land, through their own unique path, until they safely reached the opposite shore. (Pirkey de'Rebbi Eliezer 42)

 So, each tribe was given its own unique pathway as a direct result of prayer (Mei HaNachal). Those twelve corridors allude to each tribe having its own gate through which its prayers enter heaven and its own unique formula by which those prayers are expressed

Our sages teach "There isn't a blade of grass in the world below which doesn't have a star and an angel above that strike it and tell it, 'Grow!'" (Bereshit Rabba 10:7) This teaches us that prayer, when accepted by Hashem, gives the supplicant the power to control nature and all other things normally beyond human control. These include the splitting of the Red Sea, making a living, and finding a marriage partner (Mai HaNachal). 

Our sages teach "providing a person with his livelihood is as difficult as splitting the Red Sea." (Talmud: Pesachim 118a); and "providing a person with a marriage partner is as difficult as splitting the Red Sea." (Talmud: Sotah 2a) `In comparing splitting of the sea, which was accomplished through prayer, to securing a marriage partner and a livelihood; our sages are telling us that those things which are normally beyond human control can come under our control through prayer.

Rabbi Yisroel Katz