ו. עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁמִּתְפַּלֵּל בְּכֹחַ וּמַכְנִיס כָּל כֹּחוֹ בְּאוֹתִיּוֹת הַתְּפִלָּה, עַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכִים לֶאֱמוּנָה: (לק”א סי’ ט’ אות א’)
Pray with strength and put all your force into the letters of the prayers. Through this you attain faith (9:1).
Prayer comes from faith and faith comes from prayer.
How many of us who pray daily throw away prayer through rote recitation and then say, “prayer has no meaning for me?” Or perhaps prayer seems uninspired. The question is, just as much as we want prayer to give us something, so too prayer “wants” us to give it something.
For Rebbe Nachman, strengthening our faith comes from the exertion and work of growing and cultivating that faith. Faith is not something we just have. It is something we need to plant, water and grow. Faith is something that can be damaged or even “destroyed (but don’t despair, the seed we planted will always remain, perhaps deep down, but it remains).” An ideal way to strengthen our faith is through the “action” of tefillah, turning to Gd daily in recognition of being provided with what we need and having opportunity to request what we believe will help us further our lives. If we focus and we take hold of what we are saying and to Whom we are addressing, we have the opportunity to enhance and inspire our prayers.
Regarding the letters of prayer, I will just add that within mystical traditions each letter carries a spark of the divine which, through our recitation, we are said to be able to reveal to the world. When we do the work, we reap the efforts spiritually.
Today, may each of us find the inspiration within the faith we already carry to inspire our prayer so as to continue to grow our faith.
Are you struggling with your spiritual growth? Faith? Feeling lost in the midst of the journey of life? Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com
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