Our Sages tell us, “Prayer is one of the things that stand at the very pinnacle of the world, and yet people treat it as unimportant” (Berachos 6b).
Let us see if we can delve into the corpus of Breslov teachings to gain a deeper appreciation of prayer.
Rebbe Nachman teaches: “A Jew’s main attachment to G-d is through prayer” (Likutey Moharan II, 84). “Through their prayers, each Jew acquires absolute mastery and control – they can achieve whatever they desire” (Likutey Moharan I, 97).
“Mashiach’s main weapon is prayer. All the battles he will wage, all the conquests he will achieve – they will come through the power of prayer” (Likutey Moharan I, 2:1). Reb Noson adds: “The essential weapon of each Jew is like that of Mashiach – prayer” (Likutey Eitzos, Prayer 2).
“The essence of our life-force comes from prayer” (Likutey Moharan I, 9:1). “Prayer brings life to all the worlds” (9:3).
Okay, great. We get it. Prayer is pretty neat. But we need to know how we should pray and what we should pray for.
A major pillar of Rebbe Nachman’s teachings is the importance of hisbodedus, pouring out our hearts before G-d. “It is the highest path!” (Likutey Moharan II, 25).
The Rebbe advises us to speak to G-d: alone, each day, in our own language – expressing our private, personal prayers, including our thanks, our needs and our requests, together with a review of where we stand, including all our thoughts and deeds (this is aside from the three set prayers each day – Shachris, Mincha and Maariv).
Reb Noson tells us which type of prayer is the most effective. In Likutey Halachos (Tefillin 5:43) he writes: “There are three unique types of prayer: a prayer of David (Psalm 86); a prayer of Moshe (Psalm 90); and a prayer of the poor man (Psalm 102). Of the three, the poor man’s prayer is by far the most powerful (Zohar III: 195a).”
“The poor man’s prayers are the most powerful because they come from a broken heart. The pauper stands before G-d and bemoans his fate: ‘Why me? Why do I have to suffer?’ This prayer is so effective that it breaks all barriers and rises directly before G-d.”
“How much more so,” writes Reb Noson, “when a person cries out to G-d that they are spiritually impoverished, that they are steeped in physicality and want to draw close to G-d. How much more powerful is such a prayer? It will certainly rise directly before G-d!”
This specific type of prayer is most powerful but are we doing it regularly? Perhaps now we can better understand what our Sages meant when they said: “Prayer is one of the things that stand at the very pinnacle of the world, and yet people regard it as unimportant.”
May Hashem help us to utilize prayer to the fullest extent possible.
