TSHUVAH AND TEFILAH
1.Tshuvah is a repentance (literally: return). We read in Torah:
(Deut 30:1) And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call [them] to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
(Deut 30:2) And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
(Deut 30:3) That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
(Deut 30:4) If [any] of thine be driven out unto the outmost [parts] of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
(Deut 30:5) And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
(Deut 30:6) And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
(Deut 30:7) And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
(Deut 30:8) And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
(Deut 30:9) And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
(Deut 30:10) If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to
keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the
law, [and] if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with
all thy soul.
As well as we see tshuva (repentance) is return, turn to G-d.
Let us read Isaiah 1 too:
(Isaiah
1:15) And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from
you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of
blood.
(Isaiah
1:16) Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from
before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
(Isaiah
1:17) Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the
fatherless, plead for the widow.
(Isaiah 1:18 )
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool.
Let us read Amos 5 too:
(Amos
5:12) For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they
afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate
[from their right].
(Amos
5:13) Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it [is]
an evil time.
(Amos
5:14) Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God
of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.
(Amos
5:15) Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the
gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of
Joseph.
''Return us, our Father, to Your Torah, and bring us close, Our King, to Your service, and return us with complete repentance before You. Blessed are You, G-d, who desires repentance.'' (Shemoneh Esreh - Daily Amidah, blessing five http://www.theinterpretersfriend.com/pd/ws/frozn-rgstr/se.html)
''... Rambam tells us ... that complete tshuvah only comes when you fulfil a certain requirement, which is: that you be in the same circumstances you were when you first committed the sin, that you have the same chance and ability to do it you had before, but that you not do it - and this is critical - for the sake of tshuvah.'' http://www.nishma.org/articles/journal/tshuvah.htm
If we did sins we need to confess them.
(1John
1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our]
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
.
2.Tefilah is prayer.
''The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah. It is derived from the root
Pe-Lamed-Lamed and the word l'hitpalel, meaning to judge oneself. This
surprising word origin provides insight into the purpose of Jewish prayer. The
most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition,
of thanksgiving, of praise of G-d, or of confession, is the introspection it
provides, the moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in
the universe and our relationship to G-d.'' http://www.jewfaq.org/prayer.htm
David prayed to G-d:
(Psalms 139:23) Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
(Psalms 139:24) And see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Let us to remember the other prayer of David:
(Psalms 51:1) <To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.> Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
(Psalms 51:2) Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
(Psalms 51:3)
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin [is] ever before me.
(Psalms 51:4) Against thee, thee only,
have I sinned, and done [this] evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be
justified when thou speakest, [and] be clear when thou judgest.
(Psalms 51:5) Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
(Psalms 51:6)
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden [part] thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
(Psalms 51:7) Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
(Psalms 51:8) Make me to hear joy and
gladness; [that] the bones [which] thou hast broken may rejoice.
(Psalms 51:9) Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
(Psalms 51:10) Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
(Psalms 51:11) Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
(Psalms 51:12)
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit.
(Psalms 51:13)
[Then] will I teach transgressors
thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
(Psalms 51:14)
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: [and] my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
(Psalms 51:15) O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
(Psalms 51:16)
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give [it]: thou delightest not in
burnt offering.
(Psalms 51:17)
The sacrifices of God [are]
a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise.
(Psalms 51:18) Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
(Psalms 51:19) Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
Types of prayers
There are these types of prayers:
In the prayer "Our Father" there are bracha, bakashot, slicha, tehila.
Bracha:
(Matt
6:9) After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
(Matt 6:10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.
Bakasha: (Matt 6:11) Give us this day our daily bread.
Slicha: (Matt 6:12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Bakasha: (Matt 6:13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil...
Tehila: (Matt 6:13) ... For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Prayer is like incense:
(Psalms 141:2) Let my prayer be set forth before thee [as] incense; [and] the lifting up of my hands [as] the evening sacrifice.
Prayer has a great role in our life.
(1John 5:14) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
(1John 5:15) And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
(Prov 15:8 ) The sacrifice of the wicked [is] an abomination
to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright [is] his delight.
Joel said:
(Joel 2:13) And rend your heart, and not your garments, and
turn unto the LORD your God: for he [is] gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
The first disciples of Yeshua prayed together.
(Acts 2:42) And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
(James 5:16) Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
(Rom 8:26) Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
(Rom 8:27) And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what [is] the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to [the will of] God.
K a v a n a h
What is kavanah? ''The mindset for prayer is referred to as kavanah, which is generally translated as "concentration" or "intent." The minimum level of kavanah is an awareness that one is speaking to G-d and an intention to fulfill the obligation to pray. If you do not have this minimal level of kavanah, then you are not praying; you are merely reading. In addition, it is preferred that you have a mind free from other thoughts, that you know and understand what you are praying about and that you think about the meaning of the prayer.'' (http://www.jewfaq.org/prayer.htm)
WHY DIDN'T GOD ANSWER TO
SOME PRAYERS?
13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new
moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is
iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble
unto me; I am weary to bear them.
15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea,
when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine
eyes; cease to do evil;
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the
fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:13-18)
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.
2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the
ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the
pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were
ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen
were ashamed, they covered their heads.
5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no
grass.
6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind
like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's
sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest
thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to
tarry for a night?
9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save?
yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave
us not.
10 Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they
have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will
now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. (Jer. 14:1-10)
11 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt
offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by
the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. (Jer. 14:11-12)
1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of
the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD,
and sat before me.
2 Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I
will not be enquired of by you.
4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know
the abominations of their fathers: (Ezek. 20:1-4)
We see if there are the sins then Hashem doesn't answer to prayers.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye
sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning,
and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James
4:8-10)
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the
Word of life;
2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew
unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto
us;)
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his
Son Jesus Christ.
4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you,
that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and
do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another, and the blood of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) his Son cleanseth
us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in
us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not
in us. (1John 1:1-10)
1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of
God. (2Cor. 7:1)
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God
and our Saviour Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ);
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Tit.
2:11-14)