Every morning, one of my friends and I would get to high school 20 minutes early to pray. After our 20 minutes of speaking to God, we would continue the rest of our day with only minor apparent differences from everyone else. However, these 20 minutes gave me many more benefits than I imagined. They defined how we lived, putting our Jewish values at the forefront.

One of the most important questions we can ask ourselves, especially in these formative college years, is how we want to live our lives. We constantly focus on the external opportunities and distractions, as opposed to looking internally. How often do we look inward to become who we want to be? In Jewish practice, a way to look inward is by looking at our background and heritage to gain insight into our true identity and the path we will continue on. 

The source of our heritage and religion as a whole is the Torah. The current Torah portions take us through the history of our forefathers: Avraham, Isaac and Jacob. Uncoincidentily, these are also the three people who established Jewish prayer. 

We are introduced to the concept of prayer with Avraham waking up early in the morning and standing before God. Interestingly, the first source of prayer has no dialogue. It is simply a moment where Avraham acknowledged God and took time to be in God’s presence. 

Based on psychological research, mindfulness can be beneficial for overall well-being. It is important to reflect on how we spend our time. How often do we stop and take a second to appreciate everything around us and experience this world? 

For example, imagine eating food. This could be a routine task, or it can become elevated through deep gratitude and mindful presence in physical pleasure. 

A more profound, and frankly more complex way to be mindful is not paying particular attention to one thing, but all that encompasses you. This can often be found while in nature. Avraham exemplified appreciation and became aware of God’s existence. His experience of prayer did not need speech for it to become an act of prayer; he just needed to exist. 

As we learn from Avraham, the first step to meaningful prayer is to be in the moment, ready to approach our God. I recommend slowing down, taking deep breaths, being aware of your surroundings and unwaveringly present during prayer. This way of prayer is essential, as it starts with connecting to yourself and God first. Chassidic sources teach us that we have a part of G-d inside us, so when we connect deeply with ourselves, we connect to something greater.

The second forefather, Isaac, learned from Avraham, but went a step further. The verse says that Isaac went out and meditated in the field towards the evening. This is the source for the afternoon prayer, called “mincha.” Isaac first acknowledged and simply sat in the presence of God, and then he prayed. The specific note that Isaac went “to the field” in going to pray shows his active choice to go out and be present with God before speaking. 

We learn from Isaac that tefillah is not just being with God, but going beyond and asking for things conversationally. When connecting to God, we first must be present like Avraham and then connect to ourselves and God, like Isaac. 

What is the next step? We learn this third step from Yaakov, the third of the forefathers. We derive the evening prayers from the story of Yaakov. There is a word used in his story that means to encounter or have a meeting. 

Yaakov, a person filled with Torah knowledge, could achieve the third level of prayer, which includes a back-and-forth conversation. When we learn Torah, we are, in a way, “hearing” what God has to say, and the more we learn, the more in touch we become with God’s will. Tefillah is the same way; in the Amidah, we read the same 19 blessings three times a day. These 19 blessings are 19 values that the rabbis felt are essential we come in touch with every day. 

A conversation with God can open a new world for prayer and connection. It allows us to be vulnerable and open-hearted, going past the set words of prayer.

When we view prayer in this context, we can expand our definition to encompass much more. One of my favorite songs, “שלווה בארמונותייך” by Ravid Plotnik, translating to “Peace in Your Palaces,” has a quote that is connected to prayer. 

In English translation, he says: “Prayer is a broad concept for me. And my interpretation of prayer is very, very broad… I think that all the time, you try to fix yourself and say something sincerely… In essence, your experience is prayer.” 

It could be with a friend or ourselves; when we are genuine and have reflective sentiments, it becomes prayer. In the Gemara, a line says, “Ein sichah ela tefillah,” which means “conversation is a form of prayer.” All of our conversations can become prayerful if we let them.

One of the most potent lines in Tanach is “ואני תפלתי.” This is normally translated as “Let my prayer come to you (Hashem).” However, a different reading could render this as “I am my prayer.” 

We first explained how prayer has significance inside a specific framework, but we see that it also has power beyond in an informal way. Now, even farther than just prayer in an informal sense, we can live a life of prayer. All our thoughts, conversations and actions can become a way of conversing with the divine.

Prayer starts with structure, having set times and places; however, it doesn’t end there. This is how prayer can become transformative. When you allow prayer to go beyond its structure and flood into every moment of one’s life, this is how we can ultimately achieve a prayerful life.