[If] someone is praying and errs, it is a bad sign for him; and if he is an agent of the con-gregation, it is a bad sign for those whom he represents, because the agent of a person is like [the person] himself. They said about R’ Chanina ben Dosa that when he would pray on behalf of the sick, he would say, ‘‘This one will live’’ or, ‘‘This one will die.’’ They said to him: ‘‘How do you know?’’ He said to them: ‘‘If my prayer is fluent in my mouth, then I know that it is accepted; but if not, then I know that he is rejected.’’