Noachide Prayer

Adam L. Penrod

Any good relationship demands communication. If one party is always silent then a relationship does not exist. Prayer is our communication with G-d. In it we recognize His great goodness, wisdom, love and all of His kindnesses. We also ask for things of Him, but this is a very small part. We recognize our faults and ask forgiveness when we are wrong. We break our heart before Him because we know that he alone is able to heal them. Prayer is the most profound expression of Humanity’s most significant relationship—the relationship between G-d and man.

Two people may have a relationship, but it is through our attempt to communicate with the other person that we begin to learn the most about ourselves. It is also through the medium of relationship that we are capable of recognizing our virtues and vices. We are able to see where we can become more than we are by reflecting on the person we are in communion with. The more intimate and honest a relationship the better we are able to see ourselves reflected in the other person. We learn best how to be better by having a standard to compare ourselves to.

Standards are relative. We can learn from any type of person the villains and the saints. We can learn what not to do as well as remember what we already know we ought to be doing. In comparison to G-d we are nothing. There is not even a reflection for it is swallowed up in the indefinable perfection of G-d. G-d does not require us to be His equal in righteousness and perfection. Instead, he asks us to be perfect in comparison to ourselves. Rabbi Zusman once told his students that when he reached the World to Come he did not fear that G-d would judge him and ask, “Rabbi Zusman, Why weren’t you more like Moshe Rebbanu?” Instead, Rabbi Zusman feared Hashem would ask him, “Rabbi Zusman, why weren’t you more like Rabbi Zusman?” The greatest failing a person could have in life is to not reach the potential G-d blessed each of us with.

Hashem in His limitless mercy teaches us how to reach this potential. He shows us how to be humble when He says, “Let us make man in our image (Bereishit 1:27),” and he demonstrated how we ought to be merciful when He provided skins for Adam and Eve to wear (ibid. 3:21). His actions teach us how we ought to be.

Although action very often reveals what we believe, understanding guide’s action. Any Siddur or organized prayer is not only a guide for communicating with Hashem, but it is a teaching tool. It teaches correct notions of how to understand G-d, ourselves, and each other and our respective relationships. Who is G-d? It teaches us to realize that G-d is a part of every moment and His presence fills every place. It teaches us to realize our limits and that drawing close to Him is never impossible. Most of all it teaches us correct priorities. Service of G-d and our fellow man ought to be our most important concern in this life.

Prayer is our gateway to perfection and toward building a strong relationship with God. Prayer is as natural to a human being as braying is to a horse. This is because our souls are connected to God and always seek out their source. Prayer helps reaffirm and strengthen the connection to the source of everything—God.

Written by :