Welcome to the Daily Chizuk (encouragement). Never give up hope. Tefillah (prayer) could always help, even if the situation is desperate. We know the Navi (Prophet) told Hezekiah HaMelech (the king), “Hashem decreed that you’re going to die.” What did Hezekiah respond? The Prophet just told him it’s over, there’s no hope, it’s signed and sealed by Hashem. He said back, “Take your prophecy and leave. I have a tradition from my grandfather: even if there’s a sharp sword on a person’s neck, he should never lose hope.” Hezekiah turned to the wall and prayed his heart out, and Hashem granted him 15 more years of life. Tefillah does wonders.
Rabbi Falk told the story of a religious school in Israel that was in a tough situation. The mayor of the city hated religion, and he always had it in for this school. One time, there was a very important person coming to visit the town, and the mayor ordered every school to have all the children outside for a parade to honor this person. The problem was that the person was a well-known rasha (wicked person), and it wouldn’t be good education to teach children to respect the wicked. But the mayor threatened, “If the children are not outside, the school will be closed down.”
The principal didn’t know what to do. He went to Rav Shach and asked for advice. Rav Shach said, “It’s a very tough situation. You should keep all the younger children in the building and send out only the oldest two grades, and explain to them why they have to go out for the benefit of the school.” But the day before the parade, the principal was called back to Rav Shach, and the rabbi said, “I’ve been thinking about it, and I reconsidered. It’s not proper for anyone to go out. Everyone should stay in the school.” The principal said, “But what about the school?” Rav Shach said, “We have to do what’s right. And how to save the school, that’s up to Hashem.”
So they listened, and no children went out. The morning after the parade, the principal got a phone call from the mayor, who was panicking. But the mayor, in a very meek voice, said, “I must apologize. I completely forgot to tell you about the parade yesterday.” The principal couldn’t believe his ears. The mayor had kept calling him for the last few weeks, threatening every time to shut down the school, and now he was apologizing? The principal quickly went to Rav Shach and told him about the open miracle: not only was the school not closing, but the mayor felt that he owed him. Rav Shach was sitting there with the Tehillim, and he said, “I’ve been worried. I’ve been praying almost non-stop for the last 24 hours that the school shouldn’t be harmed.”
This is the power of Tefillah. Hashem can play with people’s minds. And prayer is not only for tzaddikim (righteous people). Everybody can be helped through Tefillah.
Rabbi Falk told another story about someone he knows. This man had a lot of suffering from a certain situation, and he was desperately trying to get ahold of a person in Yerushalayim who he knew could help him. But it was absolutely impossible to get in touch with this person. He never answers the phone because he’s so inundated with people calling for help. The man was trying for days with no luck. So he went to the Kotel and poured out his heart to Hashem. In the middle of praying, he felt an inspiration telling him, “Call the person right now. Call right now.” He took out his cell phone on the spot, called, and got through.
The person said, “But I was expecting a call from someone else I had arranged with to call me at this exact time, and you called instead.” And Baruch Hashem (Blessed is Hashem), that person was unbelievably helpful in taking care of the problem. Many times it’s obvious to us how Hashem helped, and many times it’s not so obvious. But every prayer counts. And no matter what the situation, you could always be helped. Have a great day.