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Daily Chizuk #1218
Parnasa / Money
Power of Gratitude: The Kindnesses Spoken in Ha’azinu
Prayer Is Amazing
When Yonah was thrown overboard in the middle of the ocean, he began to drown and felt that death was imminent. The pasuk says, Hashem miraculously brought a large fish to that exact spot where Yonah was and the fish swallowed him. And then, miraculously, Yonah remained completely intact, breathing normally inside the fish. Chazal tell us, it was so comfortable for Yonah there that he didn’t even feel any distress. Hashem, on the other hand, wanted Yonah to pray and, when he didn’t pray, Hashem caused that fish to spit Yonah back into one of the deepest parts of the ocean. Once again Yonah felt like he was going to die and, once again, Hashem sent a large fish to swallow him, but this time it was very cramped for Yonah inside that fish and Yonah understood, Hashem wanted his prayers. Yonah then prayed from the depths of his heart. And then, Hashem completely saved him by bringing him to dry land.
When a person begins to experience hardship, one of the messages he is supposed to be taking is that Hashem wants his prayers. If the situation gets worse, he needs to increase his efforts in tefila. Hashem wants a person’s prayers because He knows how much the prayers benefit the person spiritually. There is endless reward for every heartfelt tefila and, as an additional bonus, Hashem will also give the person the answer to his tefila. The main reward for tefila is in the Next World, but prayers give us benefits here too.
When Yonah was thrown overboard in the middle of the ocean, he began to drown and felt that death was imminent. The pasuk says, Hashem miraculously brought a large fish to that exact spot where Yonah was and the fish swallowed him. And then, miraculously, Yonah remained completely intact, breathing normally inside the fish. Chazal tell us, it was so comfortable for Yonah there that he didn’t even feel any distress. Hashem, on the other hand, wanted Yonah to pray and, when he didn’t pray, Hashem caused that fish to spit Yonah back into one of the deepest parts of the ocean. Once again Yonah felt like he was going to die and, once again, Hashem sent a large fish to swallow him, but this time it was very cramped for Yonah inside that fish and Yonah understood, Hashem wanted his prayers. Yonah then prayed from the depths of his heart. And then, Hashem completely saved him by bringing him to dry land.
When a person begins to experience hardship, one of the messages he is supposed to be taking is that Hashem wants his prayers. If the situation gets worse, he needs to increase his efforts in tefila. Hashem wants a person’s prayers because He knows how much the prayers benefit the person spiritually. There is endless reward for every heartfelt tefila and, as an additional bonus, Hashem will also give the person the answer to his tefila. The main reward for tefila is in the Next World, but prayers give us benefits here too.
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