With Desire and Prayer, Anything is Possible

Individuals who do not grow or progress in this world, are simply those who don’t want to. A person will decide to move forward when he chooses to. Desire isn't only a motivator for achieving something, but the foundation of all existence.

G-d wanted to bestow goodness upon His creations and this desire led to all the goodness that exists in our world. True, His power is unmatched and beyond that of any created being- but all the good that exists began with the simple desire of our kind and compassionate Father.

How does this translate to us? If each person would truly want, not just say “maybe” or “we’ll see,” but actually want to want—then G-d would provide him with success.

Desire is so powerful, that when a person truly wants something, Hashem consistently gives it to him. As Hashem says: "Open for Me a doorway the size of a needle's eye, and I will open for you an entrance as wide as a great hall."

Even a thief who wants to steal will succeed, because of the intensity of his desire. If a person truly wants good things and to make the world a better place, then certainly Hashem will faciliate this desire.

There is a story to illustrate this: There was a drunkard who embarrassed his sons by staggering through the streets, shouting and making a fool of himself. His sons decided to place him in a cemetery, thinking that when he sobered up and saw himself there, he would be terrified and quit his disgraceful behavior.

They laid their father down "respectfully" in the dark cemetery. At that very moment, some wine merchants arrived and placed barrels of wine right above where the drunkard lay.

Meanwhile, the sons noticed their father hadn’t returned home and they went to check that he hadn’t accidentally died. When they arrived they found their father, lying there just like yesterday, with wine pouring straight into his mouth from the spout of the barrel above him.

This is the power of desire. It is so strong that it controls the abundance that flows into our lives. It is so accessible that it is in fact harder to escape from it than to attain it.

How does this connect to prayer?

Rabbi Natan of Breslov said: "Anything that is lacking—either it wasn’t prayed for at all, or it wasn’t prayed for enough." A person’s prayer is strengthened by the depth of their desire.

From this we learn that the more something truly matters to you, and the more genuinely you want it, the stronger your prayer will be—and it will break through all the barriers. Prayer is the engine behind your desires, and the stronger the engine, the more power and confidence you’ll have to reach your destination.

Let’s conclude with the words of the talented musician Ishay Ribo: “And I want to do Your will, as You will it—truly and wholeheartedly, once and for all. Without screens, without masks, without wanting to want—truly and wholeheartedly, once and for all.”

A prayer in every sense of the word.