He said, “You must pray for everything. If your garment is torn and must be replaced, pray to God for a new one. Do this for everything. Make it a habit to pray for all your needs, large or small.
“Your main prayers should be for fundamentals – that God help you in your devotion, that you be worthy of coming close to Him. Still, you should also pray even for these other things.
“God may give you food and clothing and everything else you need even though you do not ask for them. But then you are like an animal. God gives every living thing its bread (Psalms 147:9) without being asked. He can give it to you this way. But if you do not draw your life through prayer, it is like that of a beast. A man must draw all necessities of life from God through prayer alone.”
I was quite astonished to learn that one must pray to God even for such trivial things, especially in a case like this where it was not even a necessity. Seeing my surprise, the Rebbe asked me, “Is it beneath your dignity to pray to God for a minor thing like this?”
He then told me a short story along similar lines, involving a man from Medzeboz. The main lesson is that you must pray for every single thing.This is also explained in Sefer HaMidot (The Aleph-Bet Book, Prayer A37).
שָׁמַעְתִּי מֵאִישׁ אֶחָד מֵאֲנָשָׁיו, שֶׁפַּעַם אַחַת דִּבֵּר רַבֵּנוּ ז"ל עִמּוֹ מֵעִנְיַן בְּגָדִים.
The Rebbe once spoke to one of his disciples about clothing.
וְאָמַר לוֹ: שֶׁעַל כָּל דָּבָר צְרִיכִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל. הַיְנוּ אִם בִּגְדּוֹ קָרוּעַ וְצָרִיךְ לְבֶגֶד, יִתְפַּלֵּל לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ שֶׁיִּתֵּן לוֹ בֶּגֶד לִלְבֹּשׁ, וְכֵן בְּכָל כַּיּוֹצֵא בָּזֶה, דָּבָר גָּדוֹל וְדָבָר קָטָן. עַל הַכֹּל יַרְגִּיל עַצְמוֹ לְהִתְפַּלֵּל תָּמִיד לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, עַל כָּל מַה שֶּׁיֶּחְסַר לוֹ.
He said, “You must pray for everything. If your garment is torn and must be replaced, pray to God for a new one. Do this for everything. Make it a habit to pray for all your needs, large or small.
אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהָעִקָּר לְהִתְפַּלֵּל עַל הָעִקָּר, דְּהַיְנוּ עַל עֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ לִזְכּוֹת לְהִתְקָרֵב אֵלָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן, גַּם עַל זֶה צְרִיכִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל.
“Your main prayers should be for fundamentals – that God help you in your devotion, that you be worthy of coming close to Him. Still, you should also pray even for these other things.
וְאָמַר: שֶׁמִּי שֶׁאֵינוֹ מִתְנַהֵג כָּךְ. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ נוֹתֵן לוֹ בְּגָדִים וּפַרְנָסָה וְהִצְטָרְכוּת חִיּוּתוֹ, אֲבָל כָּל חִיּוּתוֹ הוּא כְּמוֹ בְּהֵמָה, שֶׁגַּם כֵּן הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ נוֹתֵן לָהּ לַחְמָהּ וְכוּ' כֵּן הוּא חִיּוּתוֹ שֶׁנּוֹתֵן לוֹ הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ. כִּי מֵאַחַר שֶׁאֵינוֹ מַמְשִׁיךְ כָּל חִיּוּתוֹ עַל יְדֵי תְּפִלָּה מֵהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, עַל כֵּן כָּל חִיּוּתוֹ הוּא כְּמוֹ חִיּוּת בְּהֵמָה מַמָּשׁ. כִּי הָאָדָם צָרִיךְ לְהַמְשִׁיךְ כָּל חִיּוּתוֹ וְהִצְטָרְכוּתוֹ מֵהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ עַל יְדֵי תְּפִלָּה וְתַחֲנוּנִים דַּוְקָא.
“God may give you food and clothing and everything else you need even though you do not ask for them. But then you are like an animal. God gives every living thing its bread (Psalms 147:9) without being asked. He can give it to you this way. But if you do not draw your life through prayer, it is like that of a beast. A man must draw all necessities of life from God through prayer alone.”
וְכֵן שָׁמַעְתִּי אָנֹכִי גַּם כֵּן מִפִּיו הַקָּדוֹשׁ עַל דָּבָר קָטָן וּפָחוּת מְאֹד שֶׁהָיָה קְצָת מֻכְרָח לִי. וְאָמַר: "תִּתְפַּלֵּל עַל זֶה לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ".
I once had a slight need for some insignificant thing. When I mentioned it to the Rebbe, he said, “Pray to God for it.”
וְעָמַדְתִּי מִשְׁתּוֹמֵם. כִּי הָיָה לִי לִדְבַר פֶּלֶא בְּעֵינַי לְהִתְפַּלֵּל לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ עַל דָּבָר פָּחוּת כָּזֶה. וְגַם כִּי לֹא הָיָה מֻכְרָח בְּיוֹתֵר. עָנָה וְאָמַר (בִּלְשׁוֹן תֵּמַהּ): "אֵין זֶה כְּבוֹדְךָ שֶׁתִּתְפַּלֵּל לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ עַל דָּבָר קָטָן כָּזֶה?!"
I was quite astonished to learn that one must pray to God even for such trivial things, especially in a case like this where it was not even a necessity. Seeing my surprise, the Rebbe asked me, “Is it beneath your dignity to pray to God for a minor thing like this?”
(וְאַחַר כָּךְ סִפֵּר מַעֲשֶׂה קְטַנָּה מֵעִנְיַן בִּטָּחוֹן אֲפִלּוּ עַל דְּבָרִים קְטַנִּים מֵאִישׁ אֶחָד מִמֶּזְ'בּוּז'). וְהַכְּלָל: שֶׁעַל כָּל הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם צְרִיכִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ. (וְכֵן מְבֹאָר בָּאָלֶף־בֵּית עַיֵּן שָׁם).
He then told me a short story along similar lines, involving a man from Medzeboz. The main lesson is that you must pray for every single thing.This is also explained in Sefer HaMidot (The Aleph-Bet Book, Prayer A37).