| "Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey forth." (Exodus 14:15)
Rashi explains: "We learn from this that Moshe was standing and praying. Hashem said to him: This is not the time to prolong prayer, as Israel is in distress."
The holy Rashi teaches us a profound lesson: When a Jew prays, they are already saved. The very act of prayer itself is the salvation. Therefore, the moment Bnei Yisrael prayed, they were already redeemed, and all that remained was for them to move forward into the sea.
The message for us is that when we believe that our prayers always have an effect—even if we do not understand how or in what way, and even if we do not immediately see the salvation we were expecting—we will be able to go through life with faith and experience open miracles, just like the splitting of the sea. If we reflect on our own lives, we will realize how many times we have already witnessed revealed miracles. And yet, what we perceive is only a drop in the ocean compared to what our prayers truly accomplish.
However, in order for us to remain human beings with free will, Rebbe Nachman teaches that sometimes a person can go through their entire life without realizing what they have achieved through their prayers in this world (Sichot HaRan 244).
This is why Rashi does not say that Hashem told Moshe to stop praying, but rather not to prolong his prayer. It is clear that we must always remain in constant connection with Hashem through prayer.
Shabbat Shalom,
Chaim Kramer | 
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