Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

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explains that this pasuk refers to how we often recite berachot without the proper
kavana. Despite it being a mitzvah to recite a beracha, we can sometimes turn
the mitzvah into a sin if we don’t properly conquer our yetzer ha-ra and say the
beracha without improper thoughts.
בלה תובשחמ
One of the biggest problems the yetzer ha-ra brings us is our lack of concentration
on the correct things in life. Unfortunately, most of us have no problem focusing
on a ninety minute football game but when it comes to davening, a million things
are flying into our minds, each and every one of them something other than
tefillah. There is a story told that one day a student told a rav that he was walking
in a marketplace when someone walked right up to him and smacked him in the
chest. Before he could react, the person smacked him again. Right then he realized
he was actually in the middle of the beracha of s’lach lanu in the Shemoneh Esrei
and he was imagining himself shopping for groceries.
Rav Spier teaches that there are two ways to conquer our yetzer ha-ra. First, we
must use our yetzer ha-ra for the positive. We must recognize the areas in which
it attacks us the most and realize that these are the areas where we have the most
potential. In war, the enemy will attack the areas most potent and useful to the
other side. So too the yetzer ha-ra will attack each person’s own strengths and
areas of potential growth. The other way to conquer it is simple. Once we have
figured out the areas in which it attacks us the most, we must see what types of
temptations and enticements are placed in front of us and stay well away from
them. We must learn from the yetzer ha-ra’s tactics and when possible use it for
positive, but at the same time stay away from the bad it brings us.
In Masechet Menachot (43b) we learn that Hashem wants us to recite one hundred
berachot a day. The commentators teach that by fulfilling this request we can
increase our yirat Hashem as well as recognize that we are always in His presence
Hashem blessed us with the amazing tool to continuously become closer to him
daily and to increase our awareness of His presence. May we all learn to properly
keep our yetzer ha-ra out of our berachot and take advantage of the opportunity
presented to us by using berachot as a means to further connect to Hashem.
Shabbat Shalom!