Empower Your Tefilot

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

One of the greatest ways of empowering our tefilot is by believing in them more. When someone gets used to asking for the same thing day after day, even though he wants it so much, he tends to lose the energy and emotion that a good tefila requires. Sometimes, it gets to a point where tefila becomes just another box to check instead of the wondrous meeting between us and our creator that it's supposed to be. A few words of chizuk can go a very long way. People who have been praying for something for years by rote, who suddenly got the right inspiration, have boosted their tefilot immensely and seen amazing results. A man told me, when he was 22 years old, he lifted something too heavy and developed a severe back problem as a result. The pain was enormous and he was not able to function normally. He went from doctor to doctor, getting various shots and treatments, but nothing worked for more than a day or so. It came to a point where he realized there was really nothing else left for him to try, and so he accepted the fact that he was going to have to live his entire life with a bad back. Of course, he continued praying every day for his back to be healed, but deep down, he didn't fully believe it would happen. Over time, his back slightly improved, but he still was not able to do most things that people with a healthy back could do. One day, about 20 years after that incident, he went to a class on the topic of tefila. There, the rabbi spoke about the wonders of tefila and how much it could accomplish. The rabbi suggested to his crowd that when they ask for things from Hashem, they should ask with thoughts of how they are going to use what they're asking for towards avodat Hashem. The man became very inspired by that class. He thought of the different ways he would be able to improve in his service of Hashem if he had a good back. He began praying with those thoughts in mind. He said to Hashem, "Please, I want to be able to bow down when I say the Amida." He said to Hashem, "I want to be able to help my wife more, instead of being the one who always needs the help." Then he said his wife was about to give birth. He wanted to be able to bend over and lift the baby out of the crib. His prayers improved one hundred percent. Weeks later, he was on his way to work as usual, and the roads were slippery. All of a sudden, the car in front of him stopped short. He quickly slammed on his brakes and avoided an accident. The car behind him, however, was not as quick in stopping, and it crashed right into him. His first thoughts were about his back. He couldn't afford to injure it more than it was already injured. He attempted to get out of his car as usual. He lifted his hand to grab the assist grip in his car to lift himself up. It was always a process to get out of the car with his back the way it was. This time, he got out fairly easily. Before he even turned around to look at the accident, he attempted to bend over. Baruch Hashem, he was able to fully bend with ease. His back was healed! He then turned around and saw a six car pile up. The car behind him looked like an accordion, but Baruch Hashem, nobody was hurt. His car had no damage. When the police report came out a week later, his car wasn't even put on it. The only thing that resulted in his life from that car accident was that his back healed . Something no doctor could fix, Hakadosh Baruch Hu fixed in a very surprising way. Today, he is over 60, and Baruch Hashem his back has been fine for the last 20 years. Prayer can do wonders, but we must give it the respect that it deserves.