PRAYER | This is what G-d thinks of YOU!

foreign or you what does the word blessed mean God needs my blessings why would I want to serve a God who needs my blessing my Groucho Mark says why do I want to be part of a club that wants me as a member the word Baruch comes the word which means a channel what are we channeling down hey you it's not a little too casual to talk to the king of kings in the amida we're standing in front of a king we take three steps back so we can approach the king slowly and take three steps forward we're standing still we're clearing ourselves of all distraction all to say Hey you when I was in school there was this value that they tried imparting on us that you wouldn't say to the rabbis you said Rabbi said you wouldn't call them you it's casual yet God wants us to address him with that pay you that's the relationship we're drawing down here Baruch creating a channel for you not your name not how you identify despite what everybody thinks in 2023 how you identify is not relevant I had to go there I'm sorry it's just hey you it's just you and me that's a it's a very romantic relationship how am I going to experience you not just how I identify you which is the very his names of God there's many ways I can experience you and that's the various requests we ask throughout the amid I could experience you through your ability to heal even when it seems impossible for your abilities to sustain even when it seems impossible your ability to forgive even when it seems impossible all the different themes throughout the amida that we say your ability to impart wisdom even what though it seems impossible because God you are infinite your ability to redeem to gather the dispersed even when it seems impossible or unlikely we have the ability to connect to the infinite and to draw that and channel that in and it's with the humility of realizing our dependence on God we're literally just talking to you the point isn't the requests the requests is an opportunity connect let's say you have a couple and they both work full-time they both have busy lives kid a lot going on they don't have a lot of time to catch up they don't have a lot of time to really get to know each other as much as they should but they have a 20-minute opportunity to run to the store together in a healthy marriage you'll see that opportunity running to the store not focusing on what we should be getting your folks focusing on each other and the store is just the opportunity the context where you're able to connect yamida the ability for God to change our reality heal the sick feed the needy heart wisdom all the various blessings it's an opportunity for us to connect to God we're just making a date out of it we're making a date out of our needs the talmud says anybody who has a set place for davening for prayer many video has a macom god of Abraham going to answer him there's a lot of significance in having a set place to dive and not moving around does that mean within the show is has set places because the the altar which prayers like the carbonus is like offerings the altar was in a set Place can't move the altar around some say it so you don't get distracted I recently read another explanation but this blew me away translations are limiting what does the word Place Macomb also mean Macomb we refer to God as Macomb the omnipresent throughout the Haggadah we call God hamakum sees the place of the world when God forbid somebody's sitting shiva we say maybe omnipresent comfort you to anybody who has a set Macomb for prayer for your prayer is centered around the Macomb around God not around your requests but around the relationship God is going to come and answer you the balcony of gave an analogy for this there was once a king who offered everybody in his Province the opportunity to ask for one wish some people ask for wealth some people asked for fame this is an amazing thing because talking to the King Alone is a big deal there's no media not everybody's ever seen what the king even looks like and you get to ask for whatever you want to get it granted amazing everybody's asking for different things then there's a wise guy and he says whatever the king can give me is not as valuable as the king himself I'd like a conversation with the King give me things you could give me money but I want you the king says wow the king ends up giving him wealth and fame and giving him everything because this guy was so sincere and appreciated the king himself while she says that's what prayer is that's what the amida is it's not the things that we're praying for it's an opportunity to simply just pour our heart out and talk to God and God will give us Health God willing and give us wealth and give us Redemption give us wisdom and give us everything we need but the focus is the relationship not what we're gaining from the relationship you never want a marriage to be contingent on what you give and what you get what you give and what you get is just a means to the relationship this is the amida Imagine going through this meditation while you approach the amida I'm about to Simply have a conversation with you that's all I want I just want you not about the needs it's not about what I can get we need to pray for our needs don't get me wrong but I just want you I just want to connect with you imagine the passion fire that we're gonna have underwear this is why Ezra established the amida during Exile you already had this without prayer in the beta Mika you go to the temple you go to the base and make those dude bring the offerings and the kohanim in the living would sing and and there was an incredible inspiration and God's presence filled the room and now we have a tool with it to create this