Q&A: Prayer in Your Outlook
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Prayer in Your Outlook
Question
Rabbi Michael Abraham, I know and have read quite a bit about your approach to prayer, but I’d be glad if you could sharpen it for me and tell me:
1. What do you think is supposed to happen to the person praying during prayer? That is, are there intentions one is supposed to have, and if so, where do I draw them from?
2. Is there still any point to personal or general requests in prayer, given your approach that “the world follows its natural course”..
Answer
- I didn’t understand. What is supposed to happen? He is supposed to fulfill the commandment of prayer. Anything beyond that is subjective. The intentions one should have are the ordinary ones. However, regarding requests, I offered a few suggestions in threads that dealt with this—for example, to focus on someone who is in great need, with the faint hope that it will be answered.
- Very little. Since I don’t have the strength to abolish it outright, I say one should intend that perhaps there will nevertheless be intervention, even though the chance is probably very small—and to do so only in situations where all natural possibilities have been exhausted.