How Much Power Does Prayer Have to Change a Decree?

Greetings and blessings, my teachers and gentlemen!<\/p>

Here is your question!<\/p>

If all doors are locked except the gates of tears, why do we even pray? Our prayers don't seem to be heard.<\/p>

Pay close attention!<\/p>

The Gemara in Tractate Bava Metzia, page 59a, informs us that since the destruction of the Temple, even the doors of prayer have been locked, and what remains open are only the gates of tears.<\/p>

If so, why do we actually pray?<\/strong><\/p>

A worthy question, a beautiful question, a question that shows prior learning, and we are fortunate to have such viewers.<\/p>

So pay close attention, my teachers and gentlemen!<\/p>

One of the later Rishonim, the Meiri, writes in his book 'Beit HaBechira' regarding these words of the Gemara, that the intention is not that the gates of prayer are completely closed.<\/p>

The meaning is that most prayers are accepted, but there is no 100% guarantee. What creates a 100% guarantee is a prayer that comes from the depths of the heart and genuinely causes tears.<\/p>

These exact words are echoed like a prophet by the great Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv in his notes on the same Gemara in the exact same location, indicating that most prayers are accepted. Every prayer has its level, and every acceptance has its level.<\/p>

The deeper the prayer comes from the heart and the more it succeeds in bringing you to tears, the more certain you are that the prayer has been accepted.<\/p>

We continue to pray, from the depths of the heart, and the tears need not necessarily fall from the eyes; they can also flow from the heart, where the greatest salvation lies.<\/p>

Bless you!