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Patient Petitions

by Yehudis Golshevsky
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BRI’s NarrowBridge.Org sends out twice weekly inspiration providing a regular dose of hope, meaning and courage. These emails include small doses of Rebbe Nachman’s wisdom, enabling us to get through the week in a more spiritual way. 

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Rebbe Nachman of Breslov taught…

 

Reb Nosson wrote: “It is forbidden, and in truth it is not possible, to stubbornly demand things of G-d. We should only request and beg with many petitions and supplications, and G-d will do what is good.”
(Healing Leaves, p. 72)

What does this mean to me?

 

The sages said that one should fix times for Torah study every day, but that prayer should not be “fixed.” They concluded, “Rather, it should be pleading for compassion and supplications before the Creator.”
Rebbe Nachman provided insight into the meaning of a “fixed” prayer. Certainly it cannot mean that one should not have set times for prayer—that is a halachic reality, a spiritual necessity. The fixed prayer has to do with attitude; being rigid and demanding about what I believe that I need from G-d. When a person’s prayer is too rigid, it’s as though he’s trying to steal something from on high. Whether or not it’s really coming to him, he wants it. The inflexibility demonstrates a lack of acceptance that, ultimately, G-d will do what is best for me…and that only He knows what is best for me.
I am free in prayer to express all my yearning and all my need before G-d, and my turning to Him is precious because it shows that I know how dependent I am on Him. I pray because this is how I build the bond between us, and I can only express my needs as I see them. At the same time, the animating spirit of my prayer is that of acceptance of G-d’s will and acknowledgement that G-d’s solutions or time frame might be vastly different from what I had in mind.

A prayer:

 

Loving, caring G-d,
all the happiness and fulfillment
in my life
come only from You.
Knowing how absolute
is my dependence on You,
I find peace of mind.
Your presence
suffuses my life,
caressing me with
hope, joy and love.
I’ve tasted Your love,
I’ve known Your compassion,
I’ve experienced Your patience,
and I am filled with
gratefulness.

(The Gentle Weapon, p. 63*)

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When I read this last piece, it shows me that I must never give up. It makes clear that Hashem is in control of everything; and I do not want to do anything without His help… I need to learn to ask, and to listen, and to carry out G-d’s message. Please, G-d, help me in this area!
F.

In reference to recent post on Narrow Bridge.Org, “Beneath Your Dignity”
“The angels stand in their place, and all in Heaven gasps when a man asks, “G-d I need nothing, and am satisfied with my portion, what can I do for YOU today!”
The next time you think you need some little something or a great thing, instead ask, “Hey G-d what can I do for YOU today?” You may in the end not get what you always want, but you will certainly get what you need!
H.H.

*“The Gentle Weapon: Prayers for Everyday and Not-So-Everyday Moments – Timeless Wisdom from the Teachings of the Hasidic Master, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov” by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Adapted by Moshe Mykoff & S.C. Mizrahi with the Breslov Research Institute, 1999.  Permission granted by Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock, VT, www.jewishlights.com.

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