The Prayer of the Poor: Why a Broken Heart Outranks Every Other Prayer

There are three people, says the holy Zohar (the foundational text of Jewish mysticism), about whom the word tefillah — prayer — is written in Scripture: Moses our Teacher, King David, and a poor man (ani).

Moses, of whom it is written: “A prayer of Moses, the man of God” (Psalm 90:1);
David, who said: “A prayer of David — incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me” (Psalm 86:1);
And the poor man, of whom it is written: “A prayer of the poor man when he is faint, and pours out his complaint before the Lord” (Psalm 102:1).

The holy Zohar then poses a striking question: among these three prayers, which is the most precious in God’s eyes?

Our instinct, no doubt, would be to say: surely the prayer of Moses or the prayer of David! Moses our Teacher — the Man of God! Could there be a more exalted prayer than his? And King David, of whom the Holy One Blessed be He said, “One day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand [burnt-offerings] that Solomon brought” — the one called Ne’im Zemirot Yisrael, the Sweet Singer of Israel, on account of his prayers — could any prayer be loftier or more precious than his?

The holy Zohar then offers a teaching that is nothing short of astounding. It answers:

“Say: it is the prayer of the poor man — it comes before the prayer of Moses, before the prayer of David, before all other prayers in the world. And why? Because the poor man is ‘broken of heart,’ and we have learned: ‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted’ (Psalm 34:19).”

And when the holy Zohar says “the poor man,” it does not mean someone lacking financial means. The Zohar translates ani (poor) as miskena — one who is lowly and broken in spirit. It is a broken heart, not an empty pocket, that defines the ani here.

The Zohar goes on to extol the extraordinary power of this “prayer of the poor man.” When such a person prays, all the heavens open, and every other prayer making its way toward the Creator is held back to make way for his. This, the Zohar explains, is precisely what the verse means: “A prayer of the poor man when he is faint (ya’atof)” (Psalm 102:1). The Zohar notes the careful choice of words: the verse uses ya’atof, not yit’atef. From this slight difference it derives that the prayer of the poor man envelops (otef) all other prayers — they do not ascend until his prayer ascends first.

For the Creator says, as it were: “Let all other prayers wait, until the prayer of the poor man comes before Me. I need no court to judge or mediate between us — his prayer and his complaints shall be before Me alone, and I will be alone with them.” And this is the meaning of the verse’s closing words: “and pours out his complaint before the Lord“ — before the Lord Himself, directly, with no intermediary.

So far, the words of our holy teachers in the holy Zohar.

Consider what this means. A person with a broken heart — whatever their circumstances — who stands before the King of the universe with that broken and contrite heart and pours it out in prayer: that prayer is more precious than any other prayer, offered by any other person, no matter how lofty their spiritual level. So much so that the Blessed Creator Himself, as it were, delights in this prayer and gently “sets aside” every other prayer until this one enters before Him.

Let us keep these words before our eyes whenever we are tempted to doubt or dismiss the power of our own prayer. “What is my prayer even worth? Why would God pay attention to the prayer of someone like me?”

Why? Because you are praying from a genuinely broken heart. And a prayer carried on a broken heart comes before every other prayer in the world.

So what are you waiting for? Go and pray.