What About My Prayers?

Has this ever happened to you? You get to the very last blessing of the Amida and ask yourself: “Did I really recite all the blessings up until now? I can’t remember!” Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one!  

Our Sages call prayer the service of the heart. God wants a relationship with us. Therefore, He desires prayers that are sincere and heartfelt. This type of prayer enables us to connect to our Father in Heaven and evoke Divine compassion. Prayers that are recited mechanically mainly to check it off our daily To Do list might be accepted, but they have much less merit. 

What are some practical steps we can take to revitalize our daily synagogue prayers? 

• Immediately before the Amida, there is a passage taken from Psalm 51. “Hashem, open my lips so that my mouth can speak your praises.” We should make this into a fervent plea to Hashem to help us overcome distractions and to pray with love, joy, devotion, and intent. We absolutely need His help to succeed.

• Realize that you are standing before the Master of the World and strive to attain the proper sense of awe. Simultaneously we should understand this is an incredible opportunity to have a private meeting and submit our request directly to the King, the only One who can truly help us.

• Don’t roll through the entire Amidah like a runaway freight train. Pause before each blessing to contemplate what’s at stake. Think about why it is so important to receive the salvation you’re requesting. For example, during the very first blessing of the Amida, Magen Avraham, we are asking Hashem’s help in shielding and protecting the people of Israel. What could be more important than this?

• Focus word for word. Speak with clarity, simplicity, and sincerity. Think about the basic meaning of each word you say.

• Monitor yourself. Identify when your train of thought begins to go off track. Strive to make swift comebacks.

• Make one additional pause right before the last line of the blessing. Once again focus on Whom you are addressing and the nature of the request.

Baruch You, Hashem, are the Source and the only Source of all blessing.

Atah What an awesome privilege to have an intimate personal relationship and to speak directly to the King of Kings.

Hashem You are you are the only One with the power and ability to help me. I am relying solely on You.

• Visualize the results and thank Hashem for the salvation that He is already preparing. For example, when I say the first blessing of the Amida, Magen Avraham, I visualize Hashem making a shield over the state of Israel in every single direction, protecting all its inhabitants.

• Strive for momentum rather than perfection. If we desire to improve and ask Hashem to help us, all is good. Trying to be Mr. Perfect is counterproductive and may lead to sadness and despair when we inevitably fall short of an unattainable goal. 

It’s best to start this initiative by concentrating on one prayer or blessing at a time and building on your success. If you immediately attempt to address all your daily blessings and prayers it may be overwhelming.  

Hashem is the King of the Universe and our loving Father. He is ready and willing to help us. We just need to prepare the proper vessels. Working daily to animate our prayers with love, joy, devotion, and intent lends a new dimension to our tefillah. It becomes a qualitatively different type of prayer, more powerful than ever and more capable of evoking divine compassion and kindness. May Hashem help us to enhance the quality of our prayers and may He send the Jewish people blessings and salvations in the new year.