Every Tefillah Is a Meeting With the King
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach would say that a person should come to shul ten minutes before davening, and he would stress: No person would dare come at the last minute to a meeting he has with the king, and he certainly would not come late, how much more so in the meeting with the King of kings. Indeed, a person who comes early to davening instills in his heart the feeling that every tefillah that he davens is literally like a meeting with the King of kings. (Shalmei Simchah Vol. I p. 221)
Coming Early to Davening Connects One to It
Rav Binyamin Rabinowitz, a dayan in Yerushalayim, often said: When one gets to davening ‘exactly on time,’ it is impossible to have the proper kavanah. Only someone who comes a few minutes before davening starts, and prepares himself for it properly, will feel a connection and belonging to it, and can then daven with the requisite kavanah. (Tiv HaTorah Kedoshim)
The Virtue of Coming Early to Davening Is More than Davening Itself
The rosh yeshivah Rav Yehuda Tzadkah explained: One who is strict to come early to shul before the time of davening indicates that he wants to serve his Creator, and he doesn’t come to tefillah only to be yotzei his obligation. Because coming early to tefillah is what indicates the nature of the mispallel, Chazal say (Shabbos 127a) that one who rises early to come to shul reaps the fruits of his deeds in this world, and his reward is also in the Next World, even though we do not find that for tefillah itself one is promised such a reward.
Therefore, Dovid Hamelech emphasized (Tehillim 119:32) “Derech mitzvosecha arutz.” Fulfilling the mitzvah itself does not indicate that the mekayem cleaves to Hashem and wants to do His mitzvos, but the running and alacrity to fulfill mitzvos indicates the runner’s desire to fulfill the mitzvos. (Kol Yehudah, Vol. II p. 9)
Five Minutes Effect Wonders
There was a group of bnei aliyah who gathered to discuss what they should strengthen regarding davening. Because each one of them suggested something else to help them daven better, they decided to seek the counsel of the Mashgiach, Rav Shlomo Wolbe. The Mashgiach summarized their discussion then and there and said: “The best idea for one who wishes to daven properly is that five minutes before davening starts, he should be ready to daven. Although it’s only five minutes, those are the moments that will cause his tefillah to be entirely different.” (Kovetz Mi Yerapei Lecha, p. 102)
Those Who Come Early Are Closer
Rav Bentzion Abba Shaul, Rosh Yeshivas Porat Yosef, would say: It is known that the participation in the simchah of another person depends on the level of closeness the participant has to the baal simchah. Closer family members come earlier and leave later, while those who are further from the family come late and leave early. The same is with Torah learning – the more a person is connected to Torah, the longer his learning seder and the more careful he is to be there from beginning to end. He added in sefer Yisgaber K’Ari that the same applies with tefillah: The closeness of a person to his Creator is measured by his attitude towards the time of tefillah. The earlier a person comes to shul and the later he leaves, the more he shows how close and connected he is to his Creator. (Yisgaber K’Ari, Ch. 9:5)
"A person has to rise early for tefillah as there is nothing greater than tefillah" (Midrash Tanchuma Mikeitz 9)
