Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 153

Chapter 15 The Force of Man

Of all the states we undergo in the process of our corrections and fulfillments, from the beginning of the line, from the bottom of the ladder, to its end upon reaching the final correction, the best states are those that bring about a feeling of failure, helplessness, and exhaustion of our own strength, when we cannot do anything by our own power to come closer to the goal.

Only after disappointments and despair do we reach a true decision that we must turn to the Creator.

Beforehand, there is no need for it. We will never find the readiness, thought, desire, or drive to turn to the Creator for help within ourselves. Moreover, by turning to the Creator for help, we essentially draw closer to Him. What do we ask? We ask for the ability to resemble the Creator.

This is called “prayer.”

In this prayer, we attain two things:

1) The strength to bestow. At the beginning of the prayer, we seemingly seek the strength to bestow as we are able to imagine it, even before having a connection with the Creator.

2) Adhesion with the Creator. Afterward, during the prayer, we gradually arrive at a prayer from the heart’s depths. This is a prayer not for strength, states, or actions, but for adhesion itself, as it is expressed in an inner feeling.

To the extent that we attain the true meaning of prayer and understand what it means to attain something more from the final state, to some small measure of it, accordingly the Creator brings us closer. When we reach the state of a correct request, we are called a “servant of the Creator.” Beforehand, we serve various thoughts that are not precisely directed at the Creator.

Therefore, preparation in general and the preparatory states at each and every degree in particular take a long time. It depends on how much we shorten these processes through effort. Most importantly, we should accept and be aware that everything happening around us and within us is in order to drive us to this true prayer. If we wish to see everything as signs of this, we interpret them correctly and very quickly arrive at the right prayer.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 152
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 151
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 150

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