Prayer is a Ladder

I have blogged before on the Chassidic concept of Hitbodedut - the practice of being alone with G-d. In addition to regular davening from the Siddur, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov frequently recited extemporaneous prayers. In fact, he taught his Chassidim (his followers) that they should spend at least one hour alone each day, talking aloud to G-d in his or her own words, as if "talking to a good friend." This practice was to be in addition to the prayers of the Siddur. Breslover Chassidim still follow this practice, which is known as hitbodedut (literally, "to make oneself be in solitude").

Rabbi Joshua
Yinon blog

There's a lot of prayer going on in the world today, or at least on the blogosphere. I saw early this morning that the topic at Spiritually Unequal Marriage was prayer and, just a few minutes ago, I found out something about Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:11–19):

What was that ladder? According to the Zohar, it’s the ladder of prayer. A four-runged ladder, actually—and accordingly, we climb four flights of stairs to move through four floors in our prayers...

This is a two-way ladder. How can you tell? The angels are moving in two directions—just like in Jacob’s dream.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
Climbing Jacob's Ladder
Chabad of Mineola

I wonder if God is trying to tell me something?

I don't think prayer is magic. I don't think praying to God is like rubbing Aladdin's lamp. God isn't a "wish machine" and I don't think that, just because you "bathe it in prayer", you automatically are going to get everything you want out of God the way you get lots of loose change out of a slot machine that's just hit jackpot.

So what is prayer?

This is just my personal opinion, but prayer is spending time with God.

When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. -Exodus 24:15-18

I can hardly compare myself to Moses or any holy man, but I do need to spend time with God. As Rabbi Freeman illustrates, prayer is a ladder between us and God. We get to climb up and down. A ladder is an invitation to reach a different height and interestingly enough, Rabbi's Freeman characterizes the ladder as having only four rungs.

The four rungs are symbolic and, pulling from the mysticism of the Zohar, that symbolism becomes mysterious and even incomprehensible very quickly, at least to people like me who are uneducated in Kaballah. But if you can get past your resistance to the mystic, there may be a few gems in there for you and for me.

Think about how you use a ladder (this is my own interpretation, now). A ladder isn't effortless. Assuming, like the ladder in Jacob's vision, God places the ladder as He wills. We see the ladder but, unlike Jacob, we approach it. We start to climb.

Ever climb a ladder? You have to use your arms and legs. You have to watch where you put your feet and hands. There's a certain amount of risk, assuming you go very high (it's hard to go too high on four rungs, though). In other words, prayer isn't just dependent on God, it's dependent on you.

In fact, it's mostly your responsibility whether or not you find yourself in prayer with God. After all, Moses had to climb the mountain to be in the cloud with God. God didn't supernaturally lift Moses to the top; Moses climbed using his arms and legs, just as we use our limbs to climb a ladder. God was (and is) waiting at the top.

What do you find when you climb to the top? I think the answer is a little different for each of us. Some people still feel very alone. Some people talk and feel heard. Some people want to scream and wail. Some people cry silent tears.

At the top of the ladder is the throne of the King of the Universe. Who wouldn't be intimidated at approaching the King? We ought to feel awed, humbled, and more than a little afraid. One does not approach the King casually.

But the Nachman of Breslov told his followers to pray to God as if "talking to a good friend." What does this mean?

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. -Romans 8:26-27

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. -Hebrews 4:14-16

We all imagine that we can approach God as if He were our grandfather or favorite uncle; as if we would only feel ease, comfort, and familiarity in His presence, and never mind that we're talking about the God who created the Universe and who commands infinite power, glory, and awesomeness. In fact, I imagine that the experience of Moses on Sinai was quite a bit different than how we normally picture it, yet Moses did spend a full forty days and forty nights in His presence and came down literally illuminated. We don't deserve to approach the King, but it is by His grace that we are allowed to do so. We are told we can boldly approach the throne, but I'd rather err on the side of humility. I'm not really such a big deal, after all.

Yet we can approach. If we take the time and spend the energy necessary to climb a mere four rungs (remember, I'm adapting Rabbi Freeman's metaphor to fit my own) of the ladder, we can be with Him in prayer. If we don't know what to say, we have an intercessor who can interpret even our moans and groans. We have access to Him. All we really need is to find a place to be alone and allow ourselves to be sheltered in His "cloud" and by His wings.

Update, March 9th: After viewing this documentary film I found in the Yinon blog, I decided to include it here as well. For Christians, the movie may seem a little different than what you're used to, but the concept of Hitbodedut, of praying in deep solitude, is something that I think can benefit us all. Perhaps some of you are already spending this time with God.



Blessed be the Name of His glorious Kingdom for all eternity.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.