The Power of Praying for the Small Things

Many people assume that we are to turn to God for serious or significant matters, but not to expect Him to get involved in the minor issues in our lives. In fact, we must train ourselves to ask the Almighty for everything, big or small. Nothing is too minor to pray for: that we catch the bus, cross the street safely, succeed in educating our children, grow in refining our character, finish cleaning the house, and in every other matter.

One of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s students wrote that for every small need he had, his teacher would instruct him to pray to God about it. When the student expressed surprise at praying for something so trivial, Rabbi Nachman replied in astonishment:
"Is it beneath your dignity to pray to the Almighty for such a small thing?!" (Maagalei Siach, p. 90).

If it feels uncomfortable for us to pray about small matters, it often stems from pride, or the belief that we can manage on our own. Prayer, however, trains us in humility and in the awareness that nothing is truly in our hands.

For example, when going shopping, we should pray that we find exactly what we need. Far from being disrespectful to God, it is actually a lack of faith to think we can manage without Him. Do we really want to leave the Master of the Universe out of our daily life?

A woman once shared with me that as a young new mother, her baby daughter was terrified of bath time. Every time she tried to wash her, the baby would scream in fear. The mother felt helpless — her hands trembled during the bath, and the desperate cries, clinging arms, and red, frightened face of her child only made it harder.

Days went by without improvement, until one day she decided to pray about it. She turned to the Almighty and asked Him for help. From that night on, the baby stopped crying in terror and, amazingly, even began to enjoy the experience.

Another woman told me that a cake baked with even a short prayer, is never the same as a cake baked without prayer. More than once, I’ve heard of women spending large sums of money on expensive items, only for the purchase to turn out poorly. They admitted they had never thought to ask for divine assistance in the matter.

In truth, for everything, we need God with us. Let us pray and ask for His help in every situation.