There’s an unresolved “argument” whether it’s better to enter Tefilla, prayer, focusing on God’s grandeur or on our own humble status.  Since one realization necessarily leads to the other, for most of us it doesn’t really matter.  There’s also a question if we should approach prayer assuming that our supplications will be answered or if we should pray without thought to that.

One basic pair of concepts in Kabbalah, our mystical tradition, is אתערותא דלתתא and אתעררותא דלעילא, Itrauta D’Letatah and Itrauta D’Le’Ila., literally arousal from below and arousal from above.  What this really refers to is the initiator of the Divine dialogue as well as the direction of energy flow.  When our interaction with God begins with our opening the conversation, for example focusing on our own neediness and begging The Creator to provide what we need, this is our arousal from below.  We send our pleas “up”, from our humble physicality to the realm of pure spirit.  When God initiates the relationship, the exodus from Egypt the ideal model of this, the initiation comes from On High.

Our uniqueness as humans is that we’re able to function in both capacities.  When we pray, even with no expectation of receiving, we send our hopes and desires, our need for connection with The Creator, directly from our “hearts of flesh”.  And those times when we sense an answer, whatever it might be, we should be aware that we’re receiving a direct transmission of His Holy Light.

And those few instances when we’re capable of both, we fill our highest role as a two-way portal.