SHALOM!

TEFILLAH (a.k.a PRAYER)
is a two-way street!

TEFILLAH = PRAYER

TEFILLOT = PRAYERS

Divrey Hayamim Bais 7:14 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

¹⁴ If Ami, which are called by Shmi, shall humble themselves, and daven, and seek my face, and turn from their derakhim hara’im (wicked ways), then will I hear from Shomayim, and will forgive their chattat, and will heal their land.

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2 Chronicles 7:14 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁴ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

In the Holy Scriptures, it is written that Dani’el Ha Navi (a.k.a Prophet Daniel) prayed three times a day without fail and no matter what came his way. YAHUVEH ELOHIM always spoke to him in response.

Additionally, it is mentioned in the Book of Acts, Chapter 5 that Apostles Peter and John went to pray at the Temple at the “MICHAH” hour.

YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH throughout HIS days on earth in human form prayed at least three times a day to HIS Heavenly ABBA YAHUVEH ELOHIM!

TEFILLAH is a very important part of the life of every human being and most especially those who have accepted YAH’S SALVATION (a.k.a YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH)!

We as humans have an obligation to get to know our MAKER/CREATOR! We also need guidance in this wilderness called earth. We are to seek ABBA YAHUVEH’S face to learn more about:

• where to go,

• what to do

and

• how to do it.

You did not create yourself and your parents did not create you. You did not create this world and this world did not create you. You don’t have a clue what is going on around in this world both physically and spiritually when you are born. There’s SOMEONE FAR GREATER than life and thus world!!! See Psalm 139.

YAHUVEH ELOHIM can use your parents and others around you to guide you into HIS WILL but they are just mere instruments of communication to you so you don’t end up in the wrong place.

YAHUVEH ELOHIM can also speak to you directly as well as dreams, visions, Holy Prophets, Angels (both holy and fallen) objects, animals.

Remember that YAHUVEH ELOHIM used a donkey to speak to Balaam on his way to curse the Children of Israel as desired by Balak, King of the Moabites.

We need REVELATION from ABBA YAHUVEH ELOHIM!

You need a (an up-to-date) DIVINE REVELATION from ABBA YAHUVEH ELOHIM!!!

One of the ways in which we practise our Messianic Jewish Faith is through TEFILLAH!!!

We practise TEFILLAH for various reasons.

You can not commune with someone you don’t know, so knowing YAH or ELOHIM Almighty is an integral part of tefillah!

knowing YAH or ELOHIM Almighty is an integral part of tefillah!

Anytime you share whatever is on your heart with your Creator—YAHUVEH GOD Almighty, whether Praising, Blessing, Kvetching or Requesting—you are DAVENING. It could happen at any time, at any place, as long as it comes from the heart’s genuine concerns and the mind’s awareness of a higher presence.

Traditionally, aside from speaking to YAHUVEH GOD whenever they feel the need, Jews daven three times a day—and, whenever possible, together. When Jews were exiled to Babylon, the Men of the Great Assembly saw that the younger generation wanted to speak to YAHUVEH ELOHIM as they had seen their fathers and mothers do, but could not find the words. They then institutionalized this Praising/Blessing/Kvetching/Requesting into a formal liturgy.

• The morning tefillah is called Shacharit,

• the afternoon tefillah Minchah,

and

• the evening tefillah maariv.

The morning tefillah is by far the longest, a weekday Shacharit taking anywhere from 40 to 90 minutes, depending on the day and the dedication of those involved.

A key element of your relationship with your Creator is to “serve HIM with all your heart.” The word serve in Hebrew is avodah, which carries the sense of laborious work. But what kind of labor can the heart do to serve YAHUVEH GOD ?

The classic Jewish answer is that this is tefillah: a labor of awakening the hidden love within the heart until a state of intimate union with the divine is achieved.

That’s why the common translation—prayer—is horribly inaccurate. Prayer implies two distinct entities, an inferior one making a request of a superior.

There is another Hebrew word for this: bakashah.

Similarly, worship has a word: shevach.

Tefillah includes both these elements, but is itself neither of them.

Instead, communion may be a better word—defined as a joining together of mind and spirit.

Nevertheless, since none of these convey the flavor of “tefillah” for the practicing Jew, the common preference is to stick to the original.

Alternatively, daven is used, a Yiddish term related to the same Latin root as the English word divine.

In Yinglish, we often use a present participle: davening.

• For observant Jews, prayer is a continual part of every day
• Prayer should be done with the proper mindset, in Hebrew, and with a group
• There are traditional blessings to be recited whenever one performs a commandment, enjoys a material pleasure or experiences an unusual event
• An important, Biblically-commanded prayer is grace after meals

But the Hebrew word for prayer – tefillah – means to “self evaluate”. So to the Jews of the Bible, prayer was not a time when they asked God for things … it was a time when they …

In Hebrew, the word for prayer is tefilah.

What does the word tefilah mean?

There are two translations that are literal and accurate.

The word tefilah comes from the word pellel which means “to judge.”

Tefilah is a time of:

• self-evaluation,
• self-judgment,
• introspection,

when a person takes the time to focus on himself and goes within himself to see:

• what it is that he needs,
• what it is that he is all about,
• what are his faults, what are his qualities,
• what is it that he needs from YAHUVEH GOD,

and

• why should YAHUVEH GOD give it to him.

This self-assessment process happens through tefilah.

On another level, in another translation, tefilah means “attachment.”

When we daven, we create a bond between ourselves and our Creator.

Prayer is a process of putting things together.

When we daven there are only two things in the universe,

• YAHUVEH GOD

and

• ourselves.

The problem is that there are two entities when they should be united as one. Tefilah remedies the problem and turns them into one.

So tefilah is the process by which we begin looking at ourselves, focusing on ourselves, and proceed to focus on YAHUVEH GOD and bring ourselves close to Him, raising ourselves above the whole succession of life that prevails during the rest of the day.