Tape 350 @ 1:18:17
QUESTION:
Why do we pray for specific things if everything is good? Nothing is done unless Hakadosh Baruch Hu is pulling wires from behind the scenes for our benefit, so why should we pray?
ANSWER:
The answer is twofold. First of all, would you say you shouldn't pray for your fellow man because it's good for him to have a headache, it's good for him to be poor? No, you wouldn't say that, because you want to learn compassion; that's your duty to have pity on your fellow man and pray. So Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, forget about my Hashgocho, I know what I'm doing in making him poor or ill, but your job is to have compassion, that's what I want of you.
Now if that's the case, suppose that fellow man happens to be named by your name and happened to have your face. So you shouldn't have compassion on him? On yourself you surely should have compassion. So therefore Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, “Have compassion on your poor loyal body and pray that it should be rid of the illness and pray that it should have enough sustenance, to take care of it.” That's one reason why we have to pray; if we are in a difficult situation chalila. Because we ourselves are like fellow Jews to ourselves. We have to have compassion on ourselves, that's why you can't harm yourself. You have no right to wound yourself, you have no right to put yourself in danger, because it's a Jew that's entrusted to your care, to take care of. So you have to pray for him, too.
A second reason is, that the reason for things happening to us is to teach us Daas, awareness of Hashem. And if we're going to be like wooden Indians, and not react, then it's a waste. So we have to react and pray to Hashem, we have to recognize the source of what happened to us. Even though it's good for us. Let's say that illness is good for us, we pray to Him to get rid of the illness because that's the purpose why the illness was sent! To cause us to pray and recognize Him, because the awareness is a bigger benefit than any other benefit, Gedolah Deah.
So now you have two reasons why we have to pray when something we don't like happens to us.