102. Concentrating for Prayer

18:3 A person who is praying needs to be aware of God’s Presence around him as per Eicha 2:19, “Pour your heart out like water before the Presence (‘face’) of God.” We should rouse our powers of concentration and banish all interfering thoughts until our minds are focused on our prayers. We must realize that if we were addressing a human king, we would surely prepare what we were going to say. How much more so ought we to prepare ourselves to address the Supreme Monarch? Our thoughts should be as prepared as our words since they are just as evident to Him. Before we pray, we should think about how exalted God is and how lowly man is; we should also purge our hearts of any physical urges.

18:4 When praying, we must concentrate on the meaning of the words we are saying as per Psalms 10:17, “You will direct their hearts and cause Your ear to hear.” With the translations available in our siddurim, anyone can make themselves aware of the meaning of the prayers. If a person cannot focus on the meaning of the words, at the very least he should concentrate on things that humble his heart and turn it toward God. If a stray thought should enter his mind during prayer, he should be silent and wait for it to pass.