The Power of Prayer by Shani Hebron

This week’s Parsha is Parshat Vayeira. The parsha opens with three angels, disguised as regular men, come to visit Avraham and Sarah at their tent. After Avraham invites them in for food and drinks, the angels then tell Avraham that they will come by again next year for that Sarah will be blessed with a child. Sarah was standing at the entrance of the tent when she overheard what the angels have said and then the pasuk goes on saying that Sarah laughed inside. How could Sarah laugh at something like this?

The Seforno explains why Sarah laughs. He goes on to say that when the three angels came to their tent, she viewed them as great men, that she respected, but only as men and not as the angels of Hashem, their true identity. So when she heard random men were telling her husband that she will have a child, she was in disbelief simply because of her age. She thought the only way for her to be able to give birth, being as old as she was, is if it came from something out of this world, something that only two forces can accomplish: a gift directly from Hashem, or through the force of Tefillah. Therefore Sarah did not think the three men were great enough to accomplish this type of miracle. She knew that she had to use her power of prayer and find favor in God’s eyes, which teaches the amazing power of prayer. If Sarah had known the three men were angels, she would have believed them when they said she was going to have a child. But because she did not know that, she turned to Hashem to find answers.

Prayer is a very powerful and is a personal direct line to Hashem. Her sincere prayer, asking Hashem for answers, was almighty. Although sometimes it may not seem like it, Hashem answers everyone’s prayers, even if it’s not directly shown. One example is when the three men showed up at Avraham and Sarah’s tent. Sarah turned to Hashem when she didn’t see the hidden miracle right in front of her. Sometimes we choose to ignore the signs we receive from Hashem in our everyday lives. Every person should appreciate the little things that happen throughout the day. The sun comes up every day, nature’s beauty never ceases to disappoint, and Hashem returns our Neshamot (souls) to us very morning. Anything we encounter can be a blessing in a disguise and our job is to try to recognize them. Even though Sarah turned to prayer when she was in doubt, some of us only choose to ignore. May we all have the strength and power to see the little, and big miracles in our lives, and connect to Hashem through the power of prayer.