Here again we note the reflexive nature of tefilah (the hitpa'el - form of mitpalel): by speaking to, and of, G-d, we also address ourselves.
"The Pesukei Dezimra were instituted to arouse and enhance a condition of thirsting (for G-dliness), from the depths of the heart, when contemplating how even 'the heavens and the heavens of the heavens' praise the Divine Name. Likewise, Birchat Yotzer Or (the blessing 'Who Forms Light') which precedes the Shema, was instituted to draw man's attention to how the angels say 'Holy....'"
All this is "to arouse in the animal soul a desire and thirst to perceive the Glory of the King, (first) by means of the order of praises: how 'Baruch She'amar vehayah ha'olam - blessed is He who spoke and the world came into being,' by a single utterance and a single saying as stated in the Zohar that He created the world with a single thought. He is 'Yachid, Chey Ha'olamim - the Only One, the Life of all worlds': He is the Only One, for He is alone, as prior to the creation of the world. 'Meshubach umefo'ar adey ad -praised and glorified forever-lasting': above to no end and below to no limit. The soul of every living being thus longs for Him, to cleave unto Him. How much more so when noting that His Great Name and Sovereignty are over us, as it is written, 'He exalts the glory of His people' (Psalms 148:14), and 'He declares His words to Jacob' (Psalms 147:19)."
Drawing attention to these principles ignites joy in the heart of man, a "rejoicing in his Maker, a great joy in G-d who makes His Shechinah dwell in our midst."
Then we proceed in our prayers and recite in Birchot Keri'at Shema (the blessings preceding the Shema) how the angels sanctify G-d, and yet 'ahavat olam - You loved us with an everlasting love, with exceedingly abounding mercy,' i.e., exceeding that of the angels (as explained in Tanya)."
From there we progress "to ascend and reach the level of mesirat nefesh (self-sacrifice) at Echad and then 'you shall love with all your heart' - that is, with both your inclinations: that the appetitive faculty of the animal soul, which craves the material things and objects which delight man, shall also return to G-d and desire the nearness of G-d who is good.
Thus it was stated already elsewhere, that 'The refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, and as for man his praise' (Proverbs 27:21); this means that the way and manner of man praising G-d (in prayer) is a refining pot and crucible: the flames from the fire of love (for G-d) consume the appetitive faculty of the animal soul until it will turn to the love of G-d to cleave unto Him with desire and thirst, with a genuine yearning of the soul."
Stirred and inspired by the contemplation on the Creator and Sustainer of all, one is rendered fit to petition the Al-mighty.
The Pesukei Dezimra elevate man, raising him ever higher, up to the climactic point in the Shema, the goal of tefilah, namely "G-d is One" - to become "fully absorbed in the One, 'to become one with the One' in the Shemoneh Esrei. For tefilah replaces the sacrifices. It causes the fire to descend to consume the sacrifices, i.e., the animal soul; that is, even the will of the physical body is turned to G-d exclusively, and in the heart there is but One - with no alien element beside Him."
