Post by alon on Sept 7, 2016 18:01:51 GMT -8
Prayer: The Work of the Heart
Based on an article by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
The Oral Tradition says that “The world stands on three pillars: 
, work, and acts of kindness.” (Bible study) and acts of kindness are easily understood to be essential. But “work” is actually “work of the heart,” or prayer.
Christians understand prayer from the Latin precari "ask earnestly, beg, entreat:" prex (prayks) "prayer, request, entreaty." So most of us understand prayer as just asking God for what we want, in hopes that He grants the request. However changing our understanding of prayer from a wish list to a work done in our hearts lets us see it in a whole new light.
There are three main components to prayer in Judaism as well as Biblically: praise, gratitude, and requests. These are not done because El Roi- God Who Sees Me needs them, but because we need to change our hearts; becoming more aware of YHVH Goelech- The Lord Thy Redeemer, being more grateful and cognizant of Him as the source of all blessings.
Jewish prayer is communion with El Hayyay- the God of My Life. Getting answers to our prayers is just a byproduct, not the objective. In fact, the first prayer recorded in the Bible was unanswered! This may have been to emphasize that YHVH Jireh- The Lord Who Provides is not just “a genie in a bottle.” Prayer is more than about getting what we want. We trust Elohim to provide what we need as well as some things just for our enjoyment.
That first prayer was in Genesis 18 when Avraham interceded for Sodom. He even bargained the Lord down to sparing the city if ten righteous men could be found there. YHVH Hashopet- The Lord the Judge was going to destroy them “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave.” And even though Avraham earnestly interceded for them, Sodom was destroyed; all except Lot and his daughters.
The sages do say however that Avraham’s prayers were instrumental in the nation’s salvation from annihilation hundreds of years later when, spiritually, the Hebrew children were at a low point just before they were to be delivered. El Racham had mercy on them and led the nation out of bondage in Egypt (sin). The wicked majority was saved for the sake of a few as well as for HaShem, the name of God. There are many times this act of salvation is repeated in scripture.
So sometimes prayers are not answered immediately, or in ways we expected. Many are answered and we never learn of it in this lifetime. But if we look at prayer as a transformational “work of the heart,” acknowledging the greater work of the Ruach as we grow closer to Him, Akal Esh- the Consuming Fire- then every prayer is answered as we are being transformed.
