When Heaven Listens: The Hidden Reason Some Prayers Go Unanswered

During the Days of Mercy and Selichot, we spend more time at the synagogue, and pour out our hearts before God: for ourselves, for our families, and for all of Israel. We plead: “Merciful One, open the heavens to our prayers and let them pass through…” — “Our God in Heaven, hear our voice and accept our prayers with favor…” — “We call, and You answer us…”

The goal is to open the gates of Heaven to our prayers, that we may be blessed with a good and sweet year filled with salvation, healing, success, and good news for us and for all of Israel.

When We Pray — Heaven Listens

If we look into the writings of our sages, we find a clear and consistent truth: When a person comes to the synagogue to pray — and prays properly, his prayer is answered. It’s a spiritual “law of nature” established by the Creator Himself.

The Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah 9) teaches: “When the people of Israel depart from their synagogues and houses of study, a heavenly voice proclaims: ‘Go, eat your bread in joy — for your prayer has already been heard, and its fragrance is sweet before Me!’”

And elsewhere (Devarim Rabbah 7): “Said the Holy One, blessed be He: It is not enough that you come to greet the Divine Presence in the synagogue, but when you leave, you are filled with blessings, as it is written: ‘For whoever finds Me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord’ (Mishlei 8:35).”

Thus, as the verse says: “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Tehillim 81). Open your mouth in prayer, and I will fill your heart’s desires for good. Enter the synagogue, pray — and be answered.

Why Are Prayers Sometimes Not Answered?

Every day, countless Jews enter the synagogue, pray with devotion, even cry out from the depths of their hearts — and still, their prayers go unanswered.

Our sages revealed that there are various obstacles that can block a prayer, including improper preparation, lack of cleanliness, impurity of the place, lack of concentration, neglect of Torah study, unrepented sins, and more. Maimonides lists 24 things that prevent repentance (Hilchot Teshuvah, ch. 4), and some of these apply equally to prayer.

Above all these, there is a significant cause that blocks our prayers: Disrespect for the sanctity of the synagogue.

The Power — and Danger — of Our Words

The Talmud (Berachot 6a) teaches that a person’s prayer is answered specifically in the synagogue, for that is where the Divine Presence dwells. When we fail to honor the sanctity of that place — especially when we engage in idle chatter, even outside of prayer (and all the more so during prayer) — we drive away the Shechinah.

In such a situation, the prayers offered there cannot ascend, because the very place meant to serve as a “corridor to Heaven” becomes spiritually blocked. As the Kabbalists explain, one who speaks idle talk in the synagogue creates a spiritual “cloud” that covers the heavens and prevents the prayer from rising upward.

A Commitment for Change

Let us therefore take upon ourselves, starting today, a true resolution — to sanctify our time in the synagogue and study hall exclusively for Torah and prayer. Let us turn off our phones before entering this sacred space, and restore its holiness. Then we will surely see salvations, with God’s help.

A True Story

Rabbi Elimelech Biderman relates the following story: A young Torah scholar suffered for years from a ruptured eardrum. Before Rosh Hashanah 5775, he told his rabbi that he could no longer bear the pain, and surgery was scheduled for after the holiday. During Rosh Hashanah prayers, he cried out from the depths of his heart and made a sincere vow — never again to speak idle words in the synagogue.

In his prayer he said: “Master of the Universe, just as I am sealing my mouth from idle speech in Your house, please seal the hole in my ear!”

After the holiday, he went for a final check-up before the operation, and to everyone’s astonishment, the hole had completely healed.
The doctor and all those present were speechless. “It’s impossible!” they said. “A medical miracle!”

Indeed, the impossible became reality through the Almighty’s power.