All of this time, only until now I have come to realize that "prayer before prayer" is one of major features in Jewish prayer. So I googled around and found this beautiful story.
A STORY IS TOLD of a Hasidic Rebbe who was known to begin his morning prayers long after most others had already finished them. Since it was well-known that he was up at dawn, someone once asked him what he was about in the hours before he said his morning prayers. He answered, “I am praying that I may be able to pray.”
The great Tzaddik, Reb Elimelekh of Lizhensk also had such a practice and even composed a special “prayer before prayer” to be recited before every service. This prayer is as important today---if not more important---than it was even in Reb Elimelekh’s own day, for most of us do not enter into the period of prayer with the awesome awareness, “I am about to pray.” Thus, we have translated this wonderful prayer with the hope that, every once in a while, someone might pray this prayer with deep feeling, even if they do not pray anything else, and thereby, place themselves in the awesome Presence of G-d.
The Ba’al Shem Tov once said, “It is impossible to pray with kavanah [focus] without support. Therefore, you must ask G-d for help”. Perhaps this is the meaning of “Prepare to meet your G-d, O Yisra’el” (Amos 4:12).
PART TWO
Our sages spent years creating the perfect prayer. The accumulated wisdom of the 120 Men of the Great Assembly brought to fruition the blessings that temporarily replace the daily sacrifices offered in the Holy Temple. The power of holiness invested in them inspired them to create a series of prayers that include all the possible words man can utter to G-d. The final product, the Shemone Esrei, is recited trice daily by millions of Jewish people for the past 2000 years. We ask G-d for health, for wisdom, for sustenance, for peace, for finding oneself. But are we saying it right? Is there a guarantee that it is going to work? Will we be humbled by the G-dly words?
We truly don’t have control over the outcome of our actions. Inasmuch as we prepare a speech, a song or a presentation, the impact it will have on people is up to G-d. No matter how perfect our prayers are, they are limited to what a human can accomplish. And humans can’t control outcomes. So before I pray I read a verse of Psalms, to introduce G-d to my prayer. Before I read the holy blessings of the Shemone Esrei I ask G-d to speak through me. I ask G-d to take whatever it is that I am uttering and do with it what He wants. I humble myself by reminding my heart and my brain that I am standing before G-d, and must put my ego and my expectations aside.
"My L-rd, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise"- Psalms 51:17
Source:
The story and prayer is taken from Reb Zalman Legacy Project
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