But in particular hope, the intent of the one who hopes is reached and fulfilled through prayer. David said, “I hoped and hoped for Hashem, and He inclined to me and heard my cry; and He brought me up out of the roaring pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, etc.” (Tehillim 40:2–3). This is because particular hope depends only on him; and when it is as it should be, nothing holds it back, for there is no stinting on the part of the Giver. And when a person prays for the thing he hopes for, it shows that this hope is true, and by this he is made ready to receive the kindness he hopes for. But general hope, even if it is as it should be on the part of one man or a few, the thing hoped for will not come and be fulfilled, because the hope is not as it should be on the part of all who are to receive it, which is the whole nation; and since the receiver is not made ready through hope, that hope cannot be fulfilled. And this is why our Rabbis made the general redemption depend on time or on merit; they said, “I am Hashem; in its time I will hasten it” (Yeshayahu 60:22): if they merit, I will hasten it; if they do not merit, in its time. But particular hope does not depend on time; rather, as the receiver prepares himself to receive the kindness through hope, so his hope comes and is fulfilled through prayer.