Prayer must be relevant to our lives; specifically, we must understand the relevancy of the words in prayer, namely, the written prayers in a prayerbook. Otherwise, there is a disconnect, and the prayers that we are saying may not be prayed in a meaningful way. With heartfelt prayers that we pray in our own words, this may be very different; inasmuch, that we pray using our own words, surely, what we say to H’Shem (the L-RD; literally, “the Name”) has personal meaning for us. Individualized prayer, although challenging for many, including myself, to maintain, beyond a thirty second “conversation” with G-d, may prove to be very beneficial, when we truly cast our burdens upon H’Shem, as is written in Psalm 55:23 (22).
“Cast thy burden upon the L-RD, and He will sustain thee.”
– Psalm 55:23, JPS 1917 Tanach
So, how can we compel ourselves to find meaning in the words written in a siddur (prayerbook), for the sake of kavanah, that is a heartfelt intention, when reading from a prayerbook? The psalms, in particular, convey essential truths, and varied emotional elements, intrinsic to human nature. Yet, if we fall short of the intentional focus required to reflect on these words, with the hope to connect to the ideas being expressed, perhaps, one solution is to focus on improving one’s kavanah (mindfulness) per se, so that attention may be improved, like a laser beam, honing in on each word. After all, kitvei kodesh (holy scripture) contains G-d inspired words, that convey His thoughts, that are higher than our thoughts as is found in Isaiah 55:8-9. So, in order to comprehend the essence of scripture, we must reflect while reading.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the L-RD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
– Isaiah 55:8-9, JPS 1917 Tanach