What if we try pray with kavanah and do not feel ourselves succeeding, what do we do then?
Fine. We know that we should pray with kavanah. But we also know that it’s not so easy. What if we try and do not feel ourselves succeeding, what do we do then?
If you find it hard to maintain your concentration for the entire prayer, then divide the prayers into sections. That is, start off by deciding that you are going to concentrate only on the first few pages. Afterwards, when you reach the next group of pages, make up your mind that you will concentrate only on these pages (Likutey Moharan II, 121). The advantage to approaching the prayers in sections at a time is that a person can force himself to concentrate for a short while, without it becoming cumbersome (Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom #75).
Also remember: It doesn’t pay to look for “quick remedies.” They don’t work. One has to try again and again. That does work!
If you find it hard to maintain your concentration for the entire prayer, then divide the prayers into sections!
Someone suggested to Reb Noson that perhaps it would be better to pray quickly, and in so doing avoid foreign and distracting thoughts. Reb Noson disagreed, maintaining that it was better to pray slowly. By praying quickly, a person can rush through the entire prayer with one foreign thought. But, by praying slowly, there is always a chance that he might concentrate properly on at least a few parts of the prayer (Aveneha Barzel, p. 61 #25).
“Quick remedies” don’t work!
However, on another occasion, a man came complaining to Reb Noson that he had to repeat his prayers over and over again. The man explained that he felt obliged to do this because it was very difficult for him to recite the words with the proper intentions. Reb Noson said, “Is this the only way for you to serve God? With these particular words? If these words come out broken, then go on to some other devotion – recite the Psalms, or some other prayer…” (Aveneha Barzel, p. 90). You can’t always focus your concentration the way you might like to. When this happens, move on to different prayers. Perhaps these will bring you to an arousal for God.
Reb Noson writes: “Pour out your heart before God…” (Lamentations 2:19). If you can’t pray properly, then pour your heart out, even without kavanah, just as water might pour out accidently (Likutey Halakhot, Minchah 7:44). Eventually, your heart will open in the right way.
(Taken from the book Crossing the Narrow Bridge: A Practical Guide to Rebbe Nachman’s Teachings, chapter 8 – Prayer)
