The Direct Line to God: Why Heartfelt Prayer Works More Than Blessings

A Jew once complained to Rabbi Aryeh Shechter that he had not been able to reach him for a long time. The rabbi replied: “I’ll give you another number. This number is available 24 hours a day. Whatever you need, you can ask there, and you will receive an answer.”

“Give me the number!” the man exclaimed excitedly.

“This number,” said Rabbi Shechter, “is found in the book of Psalms, in Ashrei, in the letter ‘Kaf’: ‘The Lord is close to all who call upon Him.’ The only dialing code is: ‘to all who call upon Him in truth.’”

A group of American yeshiva students once came to Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (the Steipler Gaon) to ask for a blessing. The rabbi answered them:

“Am I a factory that produces blessings? Do you keep Shabbat properly? Do you believe in God? If you are not living as you should, how can you come to me asking for blessings?!”

Then the rabbi, like a good father offering wise advice to his children, continued: “Understand that I am unable to give a blessing to a person who does not observe the commandments properly, as nothing I say will help him. But when such a person prays sincerely to the Holy One, blessed be He, God Himself watches over him. So pray! Pray to the Creator of the world with all your heart, and you will receive everything you need. The blessing is already in your hands!”

Rabbi Shechter concluded: “There have been many, many cases of people who did not keep any mitzvot at all, but when they turned to God with all their heart, He answered them.”