Tefillos With Kavannah Are Accepted

We have clearly shown that tefillah is very powerful and can even alter the course of nature. However, not every prayer is accepted. Tefillos are only heard when they are said properly. This pasuk hints to how tefillos must be said in order to be accepted.

Sefer Divrei Yisroel cites three pesukim that are connected by the mesorah, which all contain the word “v’ani” (and I). The first is this pasuk, where Yaakov says that he will walk at his own slow pace. The second is in Tehillim (69:14): “And I, may my prayer to You, Hashem, be in an acceptable time.” The third is also in Tehillim (31:23): “And I said in my haste that I have been cut off from before Your eyes but You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to You.”

The first pasuk tells us that one should daven slowly, at his own pace and with concentration. When he does so, the second pasuk says that his prayer will be accepted. However, if one davens in haste, as is stated in the third verse, his tefillos will not be accepted and they will be cut off from before Hashem. Tefillos will only be heard to Hashem when we cry out to Him, if they are said slowly and with concentration.