Kavanah is the Hebrew word for intentional, heart-directed prayer. Discover what Yeshua and Jewish tradition teach about praying with your whole heart.
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!! 🙌🏻
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.
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
It's easy for liturgical prayer to become performative. I often catch myself at the end of a prayer during the Daily Office realizing that I just said some words on autopilot while thinking about something else completely.
I just go back and repeat the prayer or Psalm, this time saying it TO someone, God. Saying vs Saying To seems like what you're talking about re kavanah.
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.
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!
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
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.
Lectio Divina… very pervasive.
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!!
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…
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
It's easy for liturgical prayer to become performative. I often catch myself at the end of a prayer during the Daily Office realizing that I just said some words on autopilot while thinking about something else completely.
I just go back and repeat the prayer or Psalm, this time saying it TO someone, God. Saying vs Saying To seems like what you're talking about re kavanah.
Thank you again. He is indeed a rewarder of those who seek Him wholeheartedly.
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.
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!
I loved this. I’m definitely going to focus on being more present with Him in all my actions! Thank you!
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
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.
As a former professional martial artist, I love this example!
This old word nerd appreciates your posts so very much. Thank you!
Thank YOU Eric. That means a lot!