Concerning the prayer, it should be in the manner of “One should always establish the praise of the Creator and then pray.”
We should ask, If a person establishes the praise of the Creator, that He is good and does good to the bad and to the good, and His mercy are on all His works, then it is certain that the Creator also gave him abundance and satisfied all his deficiencies, so for what else should he pray? Also, to the extent that he is happy with his lot, to that extent he can praise Him, so what else should he add?
In “Master of All the Worlds” that we say on the eve of Shabbat [Sabbath] after “Peace Be Upon You,” it is written, “I thank You… for all the mercy that You have done with me and that You are destined to do with me.”
This means that in everything, there must be an awakening from below. Hence, for the past we must say, “I thank,” meaning gratitude, and to the extent that he feels more completeness in himself, the truer is the gratitude. Hence, when he is happy with his lot, the gratitude he gives to the Creator is truer. However, for the future, he must offer prayer and awakening.
This is the meaning of “One should always establish the praise of the Creator and then pray” for the future. Baal HaSulam said that when a person feels deficient, he is regarded as “cursed,” and “The cursed does not adhere to the Blessed.” Hence, when he establishes the praise of the Creator and is happy with his lot, at that time he is called “blessed,” and then he can adhere to the Blessed. This is why all the prayers are for the future.
Concerning being happy with one’s lot, a person can be happy that he was rewarded with entering the synagogue although he has no desire to pray or learn, but at that time, one should say that simply coming to the synagogue is a great privilege that is not awarded to anyone. This is regarded as “Walks but does not do, the reward for walking is in his hand.”
But if a person can consider that he has come to the synagogue, which is a place where each and every one can unite with the King of all Kings, and think to whom he prays, this in itself is enough for a person to be happy. This falls into the category of “One should always establish the praise of the Creator and then pray.”
However, concerning being happy with one’s lot, we should know that it is a matter of being content with little. Being content with little refers primarily to spirituality and pertains to the “little” reward. That is, it is when he can do the most work although he sees very little profit and settles for that little profit.
Settling for little does not mean that someone who needs to eat 200 grams of bread a day eats 200 grams. Although this is little, this is all he consumes and he does not need more, meaning he has no Kelim [vessels] in which to receive more. Rather, settling for little means that one needs 1,000 grams a day but has not more than 200 grams, and he happily settles for this. This is called “happy with his lot.”
Hence, those who should understand more and have more sensation of spirituality, still, although they have not been rewarded with feeling or understanding, they settle for this and are happy with their lot. It follows that although they are happy with their lot, their Kelim still remain unfilled with wholeness, for according to their spirit, they have no satisfaction. Therefore, by being happy with their lot, they are in a state of “blessed.” And then, “The blessed adheres to the Blessed,” and then they can be rewarded with the Creator illuminating their eyes and hearts in the law [Torah] of the Creator and with having a feeling and understanding.