Welcome to the daily chizuk (encouragement). The pasuk (verse) says, “Hashem is close to all those who call out to Him, as long as you are calling with sincerity.” A sincere tefillah (prayer) is so powerful, but we have to believe in its power. When you pray with kavanah, you can get everything you want. What is kavanah? Rabbi Ephraim Waxman once explained that it comes from the word kivun, which is direction. It is directed and focused attention. Focused energy has enormous power. If you watch somebody who knows karate, they could focus and chop a thick block of wood in half. A laser is concentrated light, and it could cut through iron. Our thoughts are more powerful than any karate chop or any laser beam. Believe that you are talking directly to Hashem, and He is right there listening. To the tzaddikim (righteous people), this was a reality. You pray properly, and Hashem answers.
Rabbi Waxman told a story about Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman, who was once traveling from France to England on a boat. On that boat was a big community leader, Mr. Goodman, but they didn't know of each other's presence. The boat ride was horrible. There was a storm, and the boat was rocking the whole way. Everybody got seasick and was throwing up. When they finally arrived in England, Mr. Goodman saw the rabbi getting off the boat. He said, “Rosh Yeshiva, I didn't know you were here. Are you okay?” The rabbi said, “What do you mean? What's wrong?” He said, “We were all seasick the whole trip, throwing up.” The rabbi said, “What? You got sick? You obviously didn't say Tefillat HaDerech (prayer for the journey) with kavanah. If you did, you would have been fine.” Prayer is a reality. It's a force that brings blessing. And if you know how to use it properly, how fortunate are you?
We need Hashem for everything, especially with our regular, everyday schedules. The rabbi used to pray a very long Amidah (standing prayer) in the morning, and his students noticed that in the afternoon it was much shorter. So they said, “Rabbi, how come you pray so much longer in the morning?” The rabbi said, “In the morning, I have a whole day ahead of me. I have so many things I need help with. But by the afternoon, most of the day is over. I don't have as many requests.” Whatever you want, ask Hashem for it. He loves listening to you. Just be sincere.
A woman told me that she recently sent her son to Israel to learn for the year, but she was a little hesitant to let him go because her husband told her, “We can't afford to take a trip there during the year to go visit him.” She said she was going to miss him so much, but she decided it's best for him to go, and she let him go. But then she started praying to Hashem. She said, “Hashem, please find a way for me to be able to go there and see him. I want to see him so badly.” She prayed so sincerely with such kavanah. Just a few days later, one of her relatives called her and said that she had been debating whether or not to pursue a certain project in Israel, and had just decided to go through with it. She has to go this year four times and was wondering if the woman could come as a companion for any of them, all expenses paid. The relative didn't even know that her son was in Israel. The woman was ecstatic. Now she could visit her son four times this year if she wanted.
Yeshuat Hashem (Hashem's salvation) is unbelievable. When you are praying, you have to believe. And then your tefillah will have so much more power. Have a great day.