Clarifications on the Subject of Providence and the Hereafter

Hello Rabbi
First, I would like to thank the rabbi for his enormous work in disseminating his teachings on many important topics. Many answers and articles have greatly contributed to my understanding of various issues, and for that, I am deeply grateful to the rabbi.
I searched carefully and did not see any explicit reference to the following issues:
1.
The rabbi claims that “God forsook the earth…” and that His providence is defined by the laws of nature and His intervention in the world is minimal to nonexistent except in rare cases.
And I ask: Why should I pray 3 prayers a day, devote a little more than an hour a day to this, when most of the prayers call for God’s intervention in what is happening in the world, His revelation to the eyes of all living, “to restore our days as of old,” and so on? Forgive me, isn’t the Rabbi lying to himself when he prays the 18th prayer, which is entirely a request for God’s intervention in the world in almost every area?
2. What about the issue of reward and punishment? If it is not certain that the next world does indeed exist as described by the Gemara and various sages throughout the generations, why should I keep the commandments, avoid various prohibitions when I have no reward for it? And not only is there no reward for it, neither in this world, nor in the next world, which is not certain to exist. If I understood the Rabbi’s teaching correctly, I see every day that “the way of the wicked prospers,” so why should I even be a Jew who observes Torah and mitzvot in forgiveness?