Every word of sincere personal prayer is far more valuable than the Hope Diamond, which weighs 45 carats and is worth some $250-300 million. There will be many robbers and hijackers lying in the lurk to prevent those words of prayer from reaching the Heavenly throne. These evil forces do everything in their power to prevent a person from building an intimate relationship with God. For practical purposes, we refer to them as the enemies of personal prayer, the antagonists whose purpose is to obstruct our efforts to get close to the Almighty. Since these antagonists are so powerful, the rewards for overcoming them are unfathomable.

This message comes from the holy gravesite of King David on Mount Zion. We examine his autobiographical statement in at the end of Psalm 57. King David tells us what his definition of good is. As a result, we see what the King of Israel’s top priority is.

The more we maintain an even emotional keel, the more we become immune to stress and anxiety. The more we live a stress-and-anxiety free life, the more mental and physical energy we have. That leaves us more resources to devote to productive endeavors. In that respect, there's no stress-buster like daily personal prayer. Today, we learn the art of private speaking. This is our own intimate conversation with our loving Creator.

Here's a one-minute answer to a question everyone asks: what really is emuna?

Filmed in the Shoreshim Outreach Center in Mexico City, this enjoyable 10-minute clip is in both English and Spanish. We learn here about King David's intention when he said, "All Your mitzvoth are emuna."

A person might ask that if the Creator alone did, does and will do everything, then why pray? What do we need prayer for? Isn't everything predetermined? So what difference do my prayers make? These are the questions that today's Emuna Hour answers...

If prayer were a commodity on the futures market, it would be the best investment anywhere. What's more, the dividends are phenomenal as we learn in today's inspiring podcast.

It's great to be an optimist, but life is even better for an optimalist; here's the difference:

Here's a look at current affairs through eyes of emuna. Emuna wins wars, while lack of it loses wars, both for nations and individuals.

The Chassidic Movement began in the Ukraine, founded by the holy Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760). Many of the Chassidic Masters came from the Ukraine, such as the Maggid of Mezeritch, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, Rebbe Zusha of Annipoli and many more. Both my teacher and I are also Ukrainian Jews. We have a rich past of total dedication to the Almighty and His Torah, even in the face of the most dire persecution throughout the ages. But we have a very rich folklore, with poignant stories that teach us life's true values. This is one I cherish, which shows what true riches are.

Ponder these four important characteristics of a loving parent, as follows:
The loving parent favors his/her child more than anything else in this world.
The loving parent focuses on his/her child's good points.
The loving parent is forgiving.
The loving parent attends to all the necessary needs of his/her child.
How many parents do you know who can objectively and honestly say that they fulfill the above four criteria? We can't possibly know, but one fact we do know. No parent on earth fulfills the above four criteria so completely as our Father in Heaven does. Let's see how:

Logic and intellect see things through physical eyes. Just as physical gravity brings an object down, logic and intellect knock a person down. Their interpretation of events is negative and pessimistic. On the other hand, emuna sees through spiritual eyes. Spiritual gravity lifts one up. Emuna is beyond the brain and beyond the realm of negativity. With emuna, there is truly no despair.