Welcome to the Daily Chizuk. The Gemara in Berachot says, “Gedolah tefillah yoter mi'ma'asim tovim.” Prayer is even greater than good deeds. Who did more good deeds than Moshe Rabbeinu? Even though he had so many merits, he was answered only because of his tefillah. Moshe Rabbeinu led us out of Mitzrayim. He received the Torah from Hashem. He led the Jews in the desert for 40 years. Yet none of that was enough to let him even see Eretz Yisrael. He achieved this only because of his tefillah.
The Midrash (rabbinic teaching) says that Hashem tells the Jewish people, “Take advantage of tefillah. It's better than any korban (offering).” Then it says, “Even if a person is not worthy, if they ask me and plead with me, I will answer them anyway.”
A man told me he had been working for a certain company, and it was totally consuming his life. He went to work very early in the morning at 7. He came home late at night, after 10. Then he went on the computer and sent emails until very, very late into the night. There was so much pressure and stress that he decided he had to leave. His employer got very angry, sued him for breach of contract, among other things, and said he wasn't paying him the remaining $28,000 that the employer owed him. The man was now jobless, didn't have that much money, and had to face lawsuits.
He decided to start going to shul (synagogue) with the newfound time he had. He said he saw things in shul that totally changed his perspective on life. He watched people learning Torah and praying the Amidah with such sincerity. He said he saw some people even crying. He had never seen anything like it. People were donating large sums of money to tzedakah (charity). He used to pray very quickly, and it had no meaning to him. He could never bring himself to give away even a dollar of his hard-earned money.
He told one of his friends, “I wish I could give charity like that.” His friend told him, “Why don't you ask Hashem for help?” He said, “What do you mean? I could just talk to Hashem?” His friend said, “Anything that you need help with in life, you just ask Hashem and beg Him for help, and He'll help you.” He showed him all the places in the Amidah where he could ask for his own needs.
The man said he started praying, “Please, Hashem, let me be able to give tzedakah and not feel the pinch of losing my money.” Just a few days later, he was introduced to a lawyer. He told the lawyer that he was owed a lot of money but couldn't get it because he had breached the contract. The lawyer told him, “I'm going to help you. I'm going to get you the money, and I'm not even going to charge you. I want you to keep $15,000 for yourself and give the rest to tzedakah.” The man couldn't believe his ears. His prayers were answered so quickly. In just a few days, the money was wired to his account, and he felt so good giving that tzedakah.
But now his former employer was even more angry. He started threatening to ruin the man's name and prevent him from ever getting a job again, and he added more charges against him. The man, however, used his newfound gift of tefillah and poured out his heart to Hashem. He said he prayed for almost a year: “Please, Hashem, I don't want to fight with anyone. I want to be on good terms with people. I want to be on good terms with my boss. Please make it so that we make peace.” All of a sudden, one day out of nowhere, the boss called him up and said, “I don't want to fight with you anymore. I'm sorry. I'm dropping all the charges.” No one could believe it. It was a total miracle, and they ended up becoming very good friends.
Baruch Hashem (Blessed is Hashem). The man now has a new job that allows him to learn Torah and pray with minyan (prayer quorum), and he is so connected to Hashem all the time. Learning to pray the right way can change a person's life. Use tefillah. It's our greatest weapon. Have a great day.