Q&A: The Meaning of Prayer
The Meaning of Prayer
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
Following this past Sabbath in Ashdod, and especially after the Friday night lesson, I began to reflect on the issue of searching for God’s involvement in the world.
I came to understand that the Holy One, blessed be He, has no desire or need to reveal Himself in our world, and that we live in a generation that demands independence.
I read an article of yours on the topic of “Searching for God in the World”: “He created laws, He established norms and values, and whoever conducts himself according to them and within their framework will discover God in a more mature way.”
So in order to merit revelation and a miracle, would I experience that only if I did not serve God?
I find it hard to understand: what is the meaning of prayer, especially the parts that consist of requests? Where is there room for dialogue with God?
I heard an opinion whose main point is that we are obligated to the Holy One, blessed be He, and to Jewish law, and therefore we are obligated to pray; in addition, prayer helps us improve and progress in refining our character traits.
This view does not satisfy me, because then it makes no difference to whom I am praying, and it does not answer my question about the parts of prayer that are requests.
I would appreciate it if you could help me resolve this difficulty.
Thank you very much
Answer
Hello M’. I’ll try to be brief.
In prayer there are several parts, mainly: praise, thanksgiving, and request. There is no problem with the praises. Thanksgiving is also understandable, since one can thank the Holy One, blessed be He, for creating the world and its laws, within and through which we function. When a “miracle” happens to me, that is an opportunity to give thanks for creation as a whole (not for the miracle itself, because that is probably not a specific act of God’s hand, but rather of the laws of nature). As for requests, that is much more difficult. A request assumes involvement by the Holy One, blessed be He, that He will do for me what I ask. If the assumption is that He is not involved, then why ask?
Still, it is possible that sometimes He does intervene, even if it is impossible to know whether, when, and where. So there is justification for asking for intervention, but one should take into account that it probably will not happen (except rarely). Therefore it also makes sense to ask only in situations where there is no solution in my hands, when it is the last resort. To ask for a supernatural solution is also problematic; prayer for a miracle is, simply speaking, like praying about something already in the past, which is forbidden (“May it be Your will that these not be members of my household”).
It seems to me that the expectation of dialogue with Him in the sense of a two-way conversation is naive. That does not happen. Even someone who feels that it does, in my opinion there is a good chance that this is an illusion.
I do not think that if you do not serve God you will merit revelation. We are expected to serve Him, and if we do not fulfill our duty, the problem is ours. There is no reason to assume that this will change His policy. But as I said, there is no reason to expect a miracle or revelation. Revelation through ordinary nature is loftier and more meaningful for intelligent and mature people.
Goodbye,