Stop and Pray

In his book, The Amida, Rabbi Eli Mansour says that prayer is about relinquishing control. It means placing our very lives, our entire existence in the Almighty’s hands. Prayer is hard work because it is an exercise in emuna, namely the faith that everything that happens is in God’s hands.  
 

Rabbi Mansour recounts that Rabbi Meir of Parmishlan was once traveling in a carriage with his Rabbi. When they reached a steep incline, Rabbi Meir was frightened that the horses were not going to make it safely up the hill, and that the carriage would roll down and crash. He expressed his fear to his Rabbi, who assured him that the carriage would climb the incline without any problem. Sure enough, the horses climbed the steep hill without incident. 

 
As soon as the carriage was once again traveling on flat ground, Rabbi Meir breathed a sigh of relief, said “Baruch Hashem” and leaned back comfortably in his seat. A moment later, a carriage wheel hit a rock in the road and the carriage toppled over. The two rabbis were thrown from the carriage and found themselves lying in a mound of snow. 

 
“You see,” Rabbi Meir’s Rabbi said to him, “When the carriage was climbing uphill, you were scared and placed your trust in Hashem. When the danger passed, you relaxed and felt that you no longer needed the Almighty’s help. At that moment, Hashem reminded you that we are always, an in all circumstances, dependent upon his protection.” 
 

Rabbi Mansour writes that Hashem helps us when we recognize that we need His help. If we feel self-sufficient, and that we can manage perfectly fine independently, he comes to remind us that we do in fact need Him. 

In an article entitled That Precious Minute published on this website, Rabbi Lazer Brody points out that in just a one-year time period 6,000 pedestrians and over 40,000 motorists and automobile passengers lost their lives due to accidents in the United States. He urges us to stop before we cross the street, even if we’re at a crosswalk with a green light and have the right of way and say a short prayer that doesn’t take more than a few seconds. 

This advice really resonates with me as several times in the past year, I have been nearly run over by motorists who ran red lights or failed to pay attention when turning into an intersection. 

I have two new teenage drivers in my household, and the first advice I gave them during driving lessons was to say a prayer to Hashem before starting the car. When you pray, Hashem is right there in the car with you. At the end of each journey, I told my children to be sure to thank Hashem for the safe trip. 

Rabbi Shalom Arush urges us to say a prayer before everything we plan to do, large or small. Someone who doesn’t pray before each task thinks that he can succeed on his own without any help from Hashem. This is the root of “by the strength of my arm” – meaning that you think that you are doing it all by yourself.  

Rabbi Brody explains that we don’t go uninvited into other people’s homes. By the same token the Creator doesn’t come uninvited into our lives. So, if we think that we are capable of doing something on our own, He lets us go ahead and try. The results are never favorable because anything achieved on our own is always bound to blow up in our face. On the other hand, when we seek his assistance He smiles down and says, “Beloved son or daughter, since you are requesting My help, I’m right here with you.” 

Rabbi Arush promises that when you pray before each task, you’ll see what a difference it makes. Seeing Divine assistance with your own eyes will really strengthen your emuna. When you know that it’s Hashem who enables you to succeed, you won’t become arrogant or smug about your accomplishments. 

In a weekly Torah publication, Rabbi Elimelech Biederman told a story about the Apter Rav, who supported a Kollel and would hand out stipends once a month. One member was praying and thought to himself, “I don’t need to add a prayer for livelihood, since my livelihood is given to me by the Rebbe.” 

He then got in line to receive his money. He was the last person in line and when it was his turn, there was no money left! The Rebbe said, “Every month Hashem gives me exactly the amount of money I need the support all the men in the Kollel. There must be a reason you didn’t receive your stipend this month. Check your deeds and see whether you can find the reason.” 

The young man understood that it was because he didn’t pray for his livelihood, since livelihood depends on prayer. 

When we pray before everything we do, we build and fortify our connection to Hashem and develop emuna. This is our primary mission in life! So, let’s stop and pray throughout the day. In this way, we will know Hashem in all our ways. This will surely build our connection to Him and create the vessels we need to receive spiritual and material abundance, as well as the Divine Guidance that we need in order to succeed.