Prayer

Both Moses and the Egyptian sorcerers had sticks that turned into snakes. But, there was a big difference. They threw their sticks on the floor. Moses simply spoke to his stick. What do we learn from this?

Welcome to our new "Parsha Pearls" series on the weekly Torah portion. This week, we find Isaac and Rebecca haven't yet had children and are begging in prayer to the Almighty to become parents. Why are they so worried? Isaac's father Abraham received a solid promise from Hashem that Isaac would father the entire Jewish People (Genesis 21:12). Isn't Hashem's promise enough?

Just as cholesterol clogs the arteries, transgressions clog the pathways to the heart and the heart itself. A clogged and hardened heart has no desire to pray, for it cannot feel the Divine presence. Today, we learn how to perform a spiritual stent. Powerful prayer - a silent scream - penetrates the depths of the heart and renews its spiritual health.

There's a common denominator between your most valuable asset and your birthright, which is even more than a basic human right. No person on earth has the right to take either of them away from you. What possibly fits that definition?

Every word of sincere personal prayer is far more valuable than the Hope Diamond, which weighs 45 carats and is worth some $250-300 million. There will be many robbers and hijackers lying in the lurk to prevent those words of prayer from reaching the Heavenly throne. These evil forces do everything in their power to prevent a person from building an intimate relationship with God. For practical purposes, we refer to them as the enemies of personal prayer, the antagonists whose purpose is to obstruct our efforts to get close to the Almighty. Since these antagonists are so powerful, the rewards for overcoming them are unfathomable.

The more we maintain an even emotional keel, the more we become immune to stress and anxiety. The more we live a stress-and-anxiety free life, the more mental and physical energy we have. That leaves us more resources to devote to productive endeavors. In that respect, there's no stress-buster like daily personal prayer. Today, we learn the art of private speaking. This is our own intimate conversation with our loving Creator.

Anyone who learns how to fill their prayers with emuna can work miracles and virtually dictate reality. Let's see how...

Can emuna penetrate to every organ and limb of the body? Today's lesson shows how it can. A body full of emuna is a master key to emotional, spiritual and even physical health. You can easily test it on yourself as well.

A person might ask that if the Creator alone did, does and will do everything, then why pray? What do we need prayer for? Isn't everything predetermined? So what difference do my prayers make? These are the questions that today's Emuna Hour answers...

If prayer were a commodity on the futures market, it would be the best investment anywhere. What's more, the dividends are phenomenal as we learn in today's inspiring podcast.

If you can't honestly express your pain and shed real tears to your Father in Heaven, Who really loves you and cares about you, then who else on earth is there to cry to?

Here is an amazingly simple spiritual ploy to help you succeed in whatever you do.