Likutei Moharan 74:13/ליקוטי מוהר"ן ע״ד:י״ג

113. Each person must proceed from constricted to expanded consciousness and mitigate the judgment that stems from constricted consciousness.

2When one attains expanded consciousness, it is the aspect of “Then the eyes of both of them were opened” (Genesis 3:7)—and Rashi comments: This refers to wisdom. For [judgments] are mitigated primarily by means of wisdom, expanded consciousness: that is, knowledge of the Torah. Thus the Torah is called light, {as in “Torah is a light” (Proverbs 6:23)}. It is also written (Genesis 1:4), “Then God saw that the light was good”—and “good” is nothing other than the Torah (Berakhot 5a). In other words, the Torah corresponds to light, the opposite of darkness, which is the aspect of judgment. For knowledge of Torah mitigates the judgment, as explained above.

3The indicator by which a person knows whether his aspect of judgment is impure or holy <is> prayer. [Judgment is holy] when it does not involve a cessation of prayer. As our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: Which are the afflictions of love? Those [afflictions] that do not involve a cessation of prayer; as it is said (Psalms 66:20), “Blessed is the Elohim Who has not turned away my prayer or His lovingkindness from me” (Berakhot 5a). This is as it is written (Psalms 30:8), “You concealed Your face; I was terrified.” “Face” alludes to prayer, as it is written (Isaiah 38:2), “Chizkiyahu turned his face [to the wall] and prayed.” In other words, when there is a concealment of the face, God forbid—i.e., a cessation of prayer, God forbid—the judgment is severe, God forbid, as in “You concealed Your face; I was terrified.”