“I pray every day – but where is the answer ?!” This is the Supreme Plan: no prayer will go unanswered – it will come at the right time.
There are many obstacles to constant prayer; the main ones are in the head of a person who notices how he prays day by day, but his prayer remains unanswered. How can you confirm your heart and not deviate from the intended goal, even though the results of your efforts seem pointless?
Here are some suggestions and tips. The main desire is to believe that no prayer disappears without a trace, because the Almighty hears prayer from every mouth. The sages said, “The gates of prayer never fail!” This statement should be firmly understood: The Almighty accepts every request made, and the reasons why we do not always see immediate results may be different. Let’s look at and mention some of them so that you can feel spiritual support during the trials, and as you analyze the reasons, it becomes clear to you that there is much hidden in this subject.
First, you should know that there is a set time for each request to be answered. Sometimes the answer is received forty days later, as was the case with Moses, as it is written, “Then I fell down before the Lord for forty days and forty nights” (Deuteronomy 9:25); and sometimes, twenty days later, as the story of Daniel shows; it happens that the results are visible in three days, as in the story of the prophet Yona; or just a day later – as in the story of the Prophet Eliyahu’s prayer, or even half a day later – as in the case of King David…
Some prayers bear fruit even before a person prays, as it is written, “Before they cry, I will answer” (Jeshayahu 65:24). Of course, this verse glorifies the Almighty by saying how close He is to us, but in real life, the immediate fulfillment of prayer is not always good. As the Taanit treatise in the Talmud says, “There was a drought and it didn’t rain for a long time; this time fasting was proclaimed. But even before dawn, when people did not even have time to fast and pray, it started to rain. Everyone thought it was a good sign for the community because its needs were met before it was asked of Him. But there was the wise Little Schmuel, and he said, “It is not a matter of praise, but of shame. What does it look like? Like a slave who came to ask his master for food; the master said to his servants, “Give him as soon as possible, that I may not even hear his voice.”
Another story is told in the Talmud: “Again there was no rain, and again they proclaimed a fast, but this time it did not rain until after the whole day of fasting and prayer. Everyone thought it was definitely had to do with merits within the community, because now the Almighty wanted to hear their voices and therefore waited until the end of the day before fulfilling the request. But this time, Little Shmuel said: “This is not a compliment to the community’s merits either, if you have to pray long enough to get what you want. What impression does it leave? Like a slave who came to ask his master for food. The Lord said to his servants, “Wait until he begs and suffers all day, and only then give him what he wants…”
The Talmud asks the question: “If so, how would Schmuel see the merits of the community? And here is the answer to the question, “We see merit when they have time to pray and get what they ask for quickly; for example, they say, “Send the wind” —and the wind cometh ”and“ rain ”—and it rains“ ”(see Taanit 25b).
It is pertinent to note here that this is also said of the curse of the flattering serpent: “and the serpent’s food is dust” (Jeshayahu 65:25) – the serpent’s curse is that it always has more than enough food, soil, dust, can be found everywhere. What is the curse at first glance? Don’t everyone want to always have food without any work and worries! But the Almighty was so angry with the serpent that He did not want to hear his voice at all, and so He arranged for the serpent to always have food and not have to ask for it. All beings look up to Heaven and ask for food from the Almighty, as it is written, “They all hope that You give them their food in due season” (Teilim 104:27). The serpent, the only one of all beings, does not ask the Creator for food – and that is his curse.
From this, everyone can conclude: it is bad to receive something without prayer, and those who always have plenty of food and do not ask, should worry: perhaps the Almighty is angry with him and does not even want to hear his voice? It follows that such a person must also pray, thank the Almighty for the abundance of benefits that have been poured out on him, and pray that He will not leave him without mercy in the future.
The Talmud deals with the prayer and fasting of a large community, the inhabitants of the whole city. But individuals, even perfect people like our ancestors and predecessors, teacher Moshe, and other holy people, prayed and prayed long time before they got what they wanted. So not everything here is unambiguous, and it is not always easy to understand when it is a shame to receive an immediate answer to a prayer and when it is a praise. Note that praise or shame is not addressed in every particular case, but it should be noted that there is much hidden for us on this subject and there are some higher calculations that each request requires some time.
Midrash says, “Rabbi Hiya, the son of Rabbi Aba, said it is written,“ Trust in the Lord, be courageous and let your hearts be strong and trust in the Lord! ”(Ezekiel 27:14) —In other words, pray and pray again, and in time it will give you the answer to your prayer! Every prayer has its time when it bears fruit.
And since we do not know how long the sky is open to receive a particular prayer, there is no point in wanting our requests to be granted immediately. On the contrary, you should try to say as many requests as you need, and hope that the requests will be fulfilled – and that’s your test. In fact, if the receipt of a request is delayed, it may be best, because the Almighty knows when it is best to satisfy the request. You just need to strengthen your faith that the Creator loves you and wishes you the best, and therefore you need to wait and pray, not try to bring the appointed hours closer, or even pray in despair, God forbid.
What weakens a person? He thinks, “If I prayed a little, my prayer should be fulfilled immediately.” However, knowing that each request has its own time limit, we can consider that this request may take forty days, twenty days, or some other time.
Who is greater than Moshe, our teacher, the head of all the people of Israel, the greatest righteous man? But he did not receive an immediate answer to the prayer! So why are we waiting for our requests to be processed immediately? What can we say about the sacred ancestors who happened to pray for decades until their prayers bore fruit? Are we better than them, so everything is given to us at our first word?
Based on Rabbi Shalom Arusha’s book “At the Edge of the Forest”.
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