How to concentrate on prayer?

I really want to pray from the bottom of my heart. I keep hearing all the time, how important it is to pray with proper concentration and intentions, but I have no idea, how to do it in practice. Is there some sort of a practical guide that explains how to pray this way?  

Dear …!

Praying with concentration and with proper intentions consists of two main components:

1. A feeling that we are speaking with the King of all kings.
2. Understanding the words of prayer that we utter.

Unfortunately, the more important of the two, feeling that one stands before a king, is mostly ignored. And that’s a shame, since this is where the most effort should be invested, and this is also indispensable for a prayer. The main challenge is to create a feeling that we a standing before a king. One should try to imagine that he’s entering the royal palace, that he gets dressed in his formal attire; at the time of prayer, one should all the while think that he’s participating in important ceremony.

My grandfather, who is 93 years old, may he live long and be well, throughout his life punctiliously shines his shoes and adjusts his tie before every prayer. He feels that he’s going to talk to the Creator, may He be blessed. He doesn’t experience any great emotional upheaval, but he does feel that he’s speaking to the King now. I hope and pray to reach this level in my approach to prayer.

One can also try to imagine that one has been sent on an important mission to a far-away primitive barbaric land, and there is no-one one can really talk to there, except for one person, whom one meets only once a day. This is the way our soul feels — prayer is the only time it can talk to someone who understands it.

“Praying with proper intention” doesn’t mean that we have to create some new feelings that we didn’t have before and that did not exist in our emotional realm. However, some people, when they feel that they’re standing before the King, and that their whole lives are now being weighed and scrutinized, and that the King loves them, can be overwhelmed by emotion; they can become ecstatic. This could be a sign that this person is really connected to his prayer and is feeling the right feelings. However, this is only a sign, it’s not a goal to pursue. There is no point to pray with so much emotion. There is no need to work on trying to get one’s heart to be filled with passion, to scream from the bottom of one’s heart, to fill one’s eyes with tears — you can pick your own literary expression. And even when this does happen, the question is, why does it happen. If a person is overly emotional or unstable, and every little thing drives him to tears, it’s not such an accomplishment for him to be emotional in prayer.

What one should strive for is to feel that Hashem’s presence is so palpable, that this will cause him to experience strong emotions. However, it must be noted, that some great sages of Israel were able to, on the one hand, have a very strong sensation of G-d’s presence, and on the other hand, remain calm and dignified, as is fit for someone who is standing before a king.

Oftentimes it’s difficult for us to feel a connection with the words of prayer. Because of this, we end up feeling that the prayer did not pour out of our hearts. In this case one should imagine that he has to present a blessing and a petition to the President of the United States of America. Your country’s greatest experts conducted thorough research on President’s personality. They found out exactly, what he can connect to, what pushes his buttons, what he likes to hear and what makes him emotional. They contrived an address which accords perfectly with their findings. Maybe it sounds a little too decorous to you, but you know that every letter of every word was written with one purpose in mind: for you to accomplish your mission. This is what a prayer should look like. Of course, this is easier said than done. This exercise takes about 120 years to complete, but I try to work on this all the time.

Good luck, and may all your payers be willingly accepted by the Master of all.

Maimonides, laws of prayer, chapter 4, §1; Chidushei Rabbeinu Chaim haLevi (ibid.).