Kavanah is the Hebrew word for intentional, heart-directed prayer. Discover what Yeshua and Jewish tradition teach about praying with your whole heart.
What a gift this word is. The quiet reminder that how we show up matters just as much as what we do. Thank you for bringing this one into my day today as a reminder.
Love this! 💕 Bonhoeffer said that a mature Christian could feast on a single scripture for a month. This is a great reminder not to consume anything holy, treating it as ordinary, but to treat it as holy.
Excellent! I have missed this practice in my previous church right before communion. I tried to do it on my own with the community around me laughing, chatting, and standing in line, but it was hard. I’m able to do it now, in my current church because we have time to “examine our hearts” and be present at the Table of His Presence.
I’m no gym rat. But this is exactly like strength training. It’s easy to throw weight around habitually, but without intentionally and focus, you don’t make serious gains. One has to focus on the muscle wanting to be trained and establish that neural-motor connection, feel the muscle contracting as one performs the rep, and know that the right muscle is doing the work. That’s when gains are made. It sounds very similar to our consciousness in prayer to God.
Thank you so much! You’ve verified so much that I’ve slowly learned in 50 + years of walking with Jesus! I’ve just moved from th free subscription and am eagerly awaiting the deeper dive.
Pick one word and stay there. This is what my rabbi taught me about the Siddur, and it works just as powerfully with Scripture. You don’t have to cover the whole Psalm. You don’t have to get through your entire prayer list. Find the word or phrase that stops you, and let it. Sit inside it. Ask God what He wants you to see there. The goal was never volume. It was presence.
As an aside to this Yeshua quoting a few words from what we now know as Psalm 22 the crowd knew He was referring to the entire Psalm not just those three words.
I was also raised Catholic and my difficulty was every Mass I attended was in Latin so I didn't understand any if it !!
I’m so grateful that God really caused this to stick!!! I couldn’t even make notes “to look into it later” but I had to stop!! I’m so used to my OCD of reading a certain amount but it all of a sudden feels crazy to keep going after reading about this!! Thank you so much!!! I definitely needed it!! 🙌🏻
The importance of where your prayers are directed to.
I have read in a post by an alleged ex satanist that prayers merely directed to Jesus go nowhere as that is "just a name".
Instead you should invoke "Jesus (pause) Christ" as that is not a "name" but a position of authority and it is that title that makes demons flee in torment.
I can see the logic behind that but not sure if it's correct.
From a biblical (and Jewish) perspective, the power of prayer isn’t in getting the wording just right like a formula. It’s about kavanah the intention of the heart and the One you’re actually addressing. In Scripture, people call on the name of Yeshua/Jesus in different ways, and what matters is trust and relationship, not a precise pronunciation or phrasing. Demons don’t respond to syllables, they respond to the authority of the Messiah Himself. So I’d say the focus shoud be less on technique and more on sincere, directed prayer to God through Him.
Psalm 22:16, the Nahal Hever fragment reads “they pierced.” The Masoretic “lion” reading loses to a scroll nearly a thousand years older. Jeremiah, the DSS contain both the shorter Septuagintal edition and the longer Masoretic edition side by side. Scholarship identifies the shorter version as earlier. The MT carries the expansion and called it the original.
The Dead Sea Scrolls do give us an earlier witness, and one Psalm 22 fragment seems to support “they pierced.” But the picture is more complex than people often make it sound. The Masoretic reading (“like a lion”) is also well-attested, and scholars still debate the original wording.
Same with Jeremiah. The shorter version in the Dead Sea Scrolls shows the text was still developing in the Second Temple period, but that doesn’t automatically make the shorter reading “more original” in every case.
So this really highlights the complexity of textual transmission more than a simple “one tradition wins” argument.
Gorgeous words to my heart ❤️ I love that your manner of teaching is compassionate to different traditions in which we were called to bloom or make lemonade out of lemons. I'm from a different tradition, but God knows our deepest devotion no matter where we begin. Your Substack offers me the meat of the word. I such it up like the deer in Psalm 63, a Psalm I memorized while representing a non denominational Christian college. God meets us in youth when we pray prayers to test whether he really cares, and when we seek him intently even in our immaturity and blindspots. Seek for the body and blood of Christ every day, and you may find yourself back at the meaning of Hebrew letters and definitions of words! This week I was meditating on Psalm 119 poetry under the meaning of the letter samekh. The image and purpose of a sea vessel came to me, and I've been working nonstop on this Psalm Hymn. It isn't perfect, but it brings me wonder and stability. Watch it on a regular computer, if you can. Psalm 119, on the Hebrew letter samekh, doesn't actually name the Mayflower, lol, but the whole psalm is a meditation on the safe, security of God's covenant, even before Jesus ratified it. It describes a hull of a ship perfect in buoyancy against evil swallowing waves of the sea. With the purpose of the destination and the ongoing security of God's divine embrace, I wanted to give you the day's meditation. https://youtu.be/HJAn-SQ7LhM?si=h3wsou-qJhEyjB4g
After reading this, it really hit me how past experiences with prayer can cripple us later on. I grew up with the teaching that you must set your clock to a certain amount of time (usually an hour) and make sure you pray a whole list of things that were given to you. It was so performative and gave me such anxiety as a leader because I felt like if I didn't do it right, I was failing somehow. I've grown so much since then and I know that is not what prayer is meant to be. But, still somewhere in the back of my mind, there is this performative aspect to prayer in the sense of Pass or Fail. What you explained here is so freeing! It really makes so much sense and brings an ease to prayer. I love this so much and intend on incorporating this practice into my own prayer time. Thank you so much!
Yeshua tells me to focus on Him and that has been really hard. I find my mind wandering all the time. I try to be intentional. I’m glad you understand.
My mind would wander when I prayed and then a friend suggested that I pray out loud. Along with being intentional it helps to verbalize our words so thoughts do not wander. Reading scripture before prayer sets the mind.
Thanks for sharing that!! I actually did a whole video on YouTube several years ago on what to do when you have brain fog and one of the suggestions I made was to read and pray out loud because you engage more senses that way so it helps avoid distractions!
We pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) as one living the Beatitudes.
The Lord’s Prayer starts with “Our Father who art in Heaven,” praying as one ‘Poor in Spirit’ who is a child of God in Heaven.
The Lord’s Prayer continues with “Hallowed be Thy name,” praying as one ‘who Mourns’ in repentance, for sin defames the name of God.
Then the Lord’s Prayer continues, but with the end in mind, praying “Thy Kingdom come,” as one ‘Persecuted for the sake of Righteousness’ hopes in the resurrection.
The Lord’s Prayer proceeds in reverse order along the remaining Beatitudes. “Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,” is as one who is a ‘Peacemaker’ bringing Christ’s peace to all.
With “Give us this day our daily bread,” we are praying as one ‘Clean of Heart’ who is not distracted by worldly goods and requires only the basics to live.
Praying, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” is as one ‘Merciful’ living in hope of God’s new covenant.
Praying, “Lead us not into temptation,” it is as one who ‘Hungers and Thirsts for Righteousness’ who desires only to do the will of God.
“Deliver us from evil,” is spoken as one ‘Meek’ who trusts in God.
In this way, one living the Beatitudes prays in every phrase of the Our Father.
Having been brought up a Roman Catholic, I too struggled with aspects of the mass, the dryness. But in my early teens questioned why we needed a priest when scripture and Yeshua’s teaching was so centered on a personal one to one relationship. That and papal infallibility. Neither made sense. Full circle to today, reading this further brings alive that most cherished of promises. He will never leave us or forsake us. We can. He can’t and won’t. This takes everything I’ve ever thought to a whole new level. I love word studies and usage. Applying to prayer, reading the Word brings me to a deep center which yes I’ve experienced but not really slowed enough to make a standard a foundation. Thank you
What a gift this word is. The quiet reminder that how we show up matters just as much as what we do. Thank you for bringing this one into my day today as a reminder.
Lectio Divina… very pervasive.
Love this! 💕 Bonhoeffer said that a mature Christian could feast on a single scripture for a month. This is a great reminder not to consume anything holy, treating it as ordinary, but to treat it as holy.
Amen!!!
Beautiful.
One of the great pleasures of language is discovering that a single word can hold an entire way of being.
Kavanah feels like one of those words.
It most definitely is!
Excellent! I have missed this practice in my previous church right before communion. I tried to do it on my own with the community around me laughing, chatting, and standing in line, but it was hard. I’m able to do it now, in my current church because we have time to “examine our hearts” and be present at the Table of His Presence.
There’s a lot to think about here…
I’m no gym rat. But this is exactly like strength training. It’s easy to throw weight around habitually, but without intentionally and focus, you don’t make serious gains. One has to focus on the muscle wanting to be trained and establish that neural-motor connection, feel the muscle contracting as one performs the rep, and know that the right muscle is doing the work. That’s when gains are made. It sounds very similar to our consciousness in prayer to God.
As a former professional martial artist, I love this example!
Thank you so much! You’ve verified so much that I’ve slowly learned in 50 + years of walking with Jesus! I’ve just moved from th free subscription and am eagerly awaiting the deeper dive.
Pick one word and stay there. This is what my rabbi taught me about the Siddur, and it works just as powerfully with Scripture. You don’t have to cover the whole Psalm. You don’t have to get through your entire prayer list. Find the word or phrase that stops you, and let it. Sit inside it. Ask God what He wants you to see there. The goal was never volume. It was presence.
As an aside to this Yeshua quoting a few words from what we now know as Psalm 22 the crowd knew He was referring to the entire Psalm not just those three words.
I was also raised Catholic and my difficulty was every Mass I attended was in Latin so I didn't understand any if it !!
Yes you’re correct. He was using a rabbinical device known as a remez…calling to mind an entire Psalm or scripture by quoting the first part.
And you’re rabbi was correct!!
I’m so grateful that God really caused this to stick!!! I couldn’t even make notes “to look into it later” but I had to stop!! I’m so used to my OCD of reading a certain amount but it all of a sudden feels crazy to keep going after reading about this!! Thank you so much!!! I definitely needed it!! 🙌🏻
I am so glad it encouraged you!!
This old word nerd appreciates your posts so very much. Thank you!
Thank YOU Eric. That means a lot!
Here's a question
The importance of where your prayers are directed to.
I have read in a post by an alleged ex satanist that prayers merely directed to Jesus go nowhere as that is "just a name".
Instead you should invoke "Jesus (pause) Christ" as that is not a "name" but a position of authority and it is that title that makes demons flee in torment.
I can see the logic behind that but not sure if it's correct.
From a biblical (and Jewish) perspective, the power of prayer isn’t in getting the wording just right like a formula. It’s about kavanah the intention of the heart and the One you’re actually addressing. In Scripture, people call on the name of Yeshua/Jesus in different ways, and what matters is trust and relationship, not a precise pronunciation or phrasing. Demons don’t respond to syllables, they respond to the authority of the Messiah Himself. So I’d say the focus shoud be less on technique and more on sincere, directed prayer to God through Him.
Just referring back to Psalm 22
Psalm 22:16, the Nahal Hever fragment reads “they pierced.” The Masoretic “lion” reading loses to a scroll nearly a thousand years older. Jeremiah, the DSS contain both the shorter Septuagintal edition and the longer Masoretic edition side by side. Scholarship identifies the shorter version as earlier. The MT carries the expansion and called it the original.
The Dead Sea Scrolls do give us an earlier witness, and one Psalm 22 fragment seems to support “they pierced.” But the picture is more complex than people often make it sound. The Masoretic reading (“like a lion”) is also well-attested, and scholars still debate the original wording.
Same with Jeremiah. The shorter version in the Dead Sea Scrolls shows the text was still developing in the Second Temple period, but that doesn’t automatically make the shorter reading “more original” in every case.
So this really highlights the complexity of textual transmission more than a simple “one tradition wins” argument.
Gorgeous words to my heart ❤️ I love that your manner of teaching is compassionate to different traditions in which we were called to bloom or make lemonade out of lemons. I'm from a different tradition, but God knows our deepest devotion no matter where we begin. Your Substack offers me the meat of the word. I such it up like the deer in Psalm 63, a Psalm I memorized while representing a non denominational Christian college. God meets us in youth when we pray prayers to test whether he really cares, and when we seek him intently even in our immaturity and blindspots. Seek for the body and blood of Christ every day, and you may find yourself back at the meaning of Hebrew letters and definitions of words! This week I was meditating on Psalm 119 poetry under the meaning of the letter samekh. The image and purpose of a sea vessel came to me, and I've been working nonstop on this Psalm Hymn. It isn't perfect, but it brings me wonder and stability. Watch it on a regular computer, if you can. Psalm 119, on the Hebrew letter samekh, doesn't actually name the Mayflower, lol, but the whole psalm is a meditation on the safe, security of God's covenant, even before Jesus ratified it. It describes a hull of a ship perfect in buoyancy against evil swallowing waves of the sea. With the purpose of the destination and the ongoing security of God's divine embrace, I wanted to give you the day's meditation. https://youtu.be/HJAn-SQ7LhM?si=h3wsou-qJhEyjB4g
After reading this, it really hit me how past experiences with prayer can cripple us later on. I grew up with the teaching that you must set your clock to a certain amount of time (usually an hour) and make sure you pray a whole list of things that were given to you. It was so performative and gave me such anxiety as a leader because I felt like if I didn't do it right, I was failing somehow. I've grown so much since then and I know that is not what prayer is meant to be. But, still somewhere in the back of my mind, there is this performative aspect to prayer in the sense of Pass or Fail. What you explained here is so freeing! It really makes so much sense and brings an ease to prayer. I love this so much and intend on incorporating this practice into my own prayer time. Thank you so much!
Yeshua tells me to focus on Him and that has been really hard. I find my mind wandering all the time. I try to be intentional. I’m glad you understand.
My mind would wander when I prayed and then a friend suggested that I pray out loud. Along with being intentional it helps to verbalize our words so thoughts do not wander. Reading scripture before prayer sets the mind.
Thanks for sharing that!! I actually did a whole video on YouTube several years ago on what to do when you have brain fog and one of the suggestions I made was to read and pray out loud because you engage more senses that way so it helps avoid distractions!
We pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) as one living the Beatitudes.
The Lord’s Prayer starts with “Our Father who art in Heaven,” praying as one ‘Poor in Spirit’ who is a child of God in Heaven.
The Lord’s Prayer continues with “Hallowed be Thy name,” praying as one ‘who Mourns’ in repentance, for sin defames the name of God.
Then the Lord’s Prayer continues, but with the end in mind, praying “Thy Kingdom come,” as one ‘Persecuted for the sake of Righteousness’ hopes in the resurrection.
The Lord’s Prayer proceeds in reverse order along the remaining Beatitudes. “Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,” is as one who is a ‘Peacemaker’ bringing Christ’s peace to all.
With “Give us this day our daily bread,” we are praying as one ‘Clean of Heart’ who is not distracted by worldly goods and requires only the basics to live.
Praying, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” is as one ‘Merciful’ living in hope of God’s new covenant.
Praying, “Lead us not into temptation,” it is as one who ‘Hungers and Thirsts for Righteousness’ who desires only to do the will of God.
“Deliver us from evil,” is spoken as one ‘Meek’ who trusts in God.
In this way, one living the Beatitudes prays in every phrase of the Our Father.
Having been brought up a Roman Catholic, I too struggled with aspects of the mass, the dryness. But in my early teens questioned why we needed a priest when scripture and Yeshua’s teaching was so centered on a personal one to one relationship. That and papal infallibility. Neither made sense. Full circle to today, reading this further brings alive that most cherished of promises. He will never leave us or forsake us. We can. He can’t and won’t. This takes everything I’ve ever thought to a whole new level. I love word studies and usage. Applying to prayer, reading the Word brings me to a deep center which yes I’ve experienced but not really slowed enough to make a standard a foundation. Thank you