If one prays, is it wrong to have trust that his prayer will be answered?
ANSWER:
If a man prays, he should have trust that his prayers are going to be answered, but it doesn't mean it'll be answered in the way he wants. I will give an example. Suppose you have a prescription, and so you go into a big drugstore and it happens that everybody's out, there's nobody there. So you want it, you can't wait, and you think you'll take it yourself and later you'll send in a check to pay for it. So you go to the shelves behind the counter and you choose whatever you think is for yourself. That's a dangerous business; you might never live to send that check.
The same is when we ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu for certain things; it could be it's the very worst thing for you, and frequently it's true. However we do ask Him because that's human nature. And there is a reason why we should ask Him, because otherwise we'll think we got it by ourselves, you have to ask Him to know that when it comes, you'll know He gave it to you.
But you have to have an understanding that what He gives is going to be for your benefit, not what you want is for your benefit. Now suppose you don't get what you asked for? Here is a man who asked, Ribono Shel Olam make me the owner of a chain store, I will be satisfied let's say with just 50 stores. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't give him one.
Now that man has to realize that it could be - to be an executive manager of one store is a very big headache, and many people succumb; high blood pressure, there are a lot of worries if you have to manage employees. Incoming merchandise, setting the prices, government regulations, all kinds of problems.
If a man is not built in a way that he could delegate responsibilities, he takes it all into his own head, if he's going to have more than one store it could kill him. If Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't give this man what he asks for, it could be it's the very greatest benefit.
So you ask whatever you want to ask for. What should you trust in Hashem? That He'll listen to your prayers, He'll do for you what's best for you; not what you think is best.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures. To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
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