Tefillos in Our Own Words
Seven weeks before his petirah of Reb Moshe Minder zt'l, he said to a friend, Reb Hershel Krinker, "Whatever you need, say two chapters of Tehillim, and then speak to Hashem like you would speak with a friend, and speak clearly about what you need. Don't hint. This is the primary tefillah."
It is important to recognize that there is a form of tefillah that is in our own words. Such a tefillah is also answered, and it can bring many salvations.
The Chofetz Chaim zt'l (Likutei Amarim 10) writes, "Everyone knows that we may not ask questions on Hakadosh Baruch Hu's ways, because Hashem is certainly correct in his judgment, and all of His ways are just. Nevertheless, לפני טעניתיו ולהפיל להציע לאדם מותר לו שקרה ופגע צרה כל על ה"הקב, a person may express his distress before Hakadosh Baruch Hu for all the troubles that befall him. This is as it states (Yeshayah 62:) יכונן עד לו דמי תתנו ואל, 'Give Him no rest until He establishes... Yerushalayim.'
"...There are many troubles that we endure every day... We should certainly pray and pour out our hearts to the Creator, bless His name, for He is a compassionate king. We shouldn't stop praying until Hashem sends us His chesed. Hashem will certainly listen to our shouts, as we often find in the Torah and the Navi. Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires to hear our tefillah, and He urges us to daven to Him and to arouse His compassion when hardships and tzaros befall us. This is as the Midrash states... 'Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, 'Cry and pray before Me... Even if a person isn't worthy that his tefillos be answered and to receive Hashem's kindness, when he davens a lot, I will do chesed with him.'
"The many tzaros that we endure...is because we aren't davening as we should. If we would daven and pour out our speech before Hakadosh Baruch Hu, our tefillos will certainly not be returned unanswered. A person shouldn't feel that it is enough that he davens Shemoneh Esrei three times a day. Rather, several times a day, one should pour out his tefillos and requests when he is alone in the house, from the depths of his heart. This is because we are accustomed to saying the three tefillos, and we don't pay attention to what we are saying. However, if a person will pour out his heart like water before Hashem, and say the prayer with a broken heart and a humble spirit, this tefillah will certainly be answered..."
