Do you pray? Muslims, Jews and Christians give their take on prayer

BOOK KNOWLEDGE
I once read a book about Islam that said God would have wanted people to pray more than five times a day. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), Jesus (Peace be upon Him) also prayed. Every religious tradition prays and we are supposed to pray to God or remember God when we pray.

MERE MAN
At the highest levels we all pray because our thoughts are like prayers and in reality are a form of prayer. Thus it is not a case of should we pray – we do pray and so we should be careful as to what we pray. Here is a selection of thoughts about prayer and why you should pray. Views are from Christians, Muslims and Jews.

Do you feel the call to pray? Do you heed it? We pray because:

Jose Caballero: To talk with GOD.

Ijaz Ahmed: To connect with God.

Kamran Tabani: It’s as simple as: why should we eat? Man does not live by food alone – prayer is the additional ‘food’ we need for a full and complete life.

Tabinda Usman: This is our faith in Allah and one should pray as a Muslim too.

Nauman Adil: We have to pray because we have been sent to this world by God. He provides us with all the necessities of life. For thanks to God we have to pray.

Nisar Moosa: Connectivity with Allah. If you have disconnected yourself then you can’t receive the blessing.

Saman Khalil: We pray because God wants us to tell him what is on our minds and build a communication (through prayers) with GOD. Even though he sees and understands our situations better than we do, he still wants to hear from us in our own words.

Kausar Sharif: I pray to thank Allah for his Blessings on us! That’s it!

Mohsin Kazmi: Because we can't control everything, so we pray for the factors beyond our control.

Ahsan Khan: So that we can differentiate ourselves from non-Muslims and to give Thanks to Allah and connect with him and worship him through his proper way whom our Last Prophet (S A W) did. Namaz is the main difference between Muslim and Non Muslim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLhdPiOu2lo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T16hrEwmXTk&feature=related

Ali Zaid: We pray because we are made for praying and life is an exam. If we pass it then we go to heaven and if we fail we go to hell. ALLAH sent us on earth to live a peaceful life and be thankful to God Always. Allah just wants to see what we do for Allah and his prophets. So be scared of Allah and pray in all the five prayers.

M Shahzad Khalil Nutkani: Because it’s a need.

Sheikh Adnan Ahmed Usmani: We pray to ALLAH to clean our souls!

Abid Pasha: Prayer is the only thing which posseses the power to CHANGE FATE and nothing else. You like your present, you pray for your future. ALLAH is the best PLANNER. ALHAMDULLILLAH (Praise be to God).

Muhammad Asim Siddiqui: Allah ordered us to pray.

Ovais Omer: To have internal satisfaction.

Muhammad Ashfaq Malik: Praying is a connection between mankind and the Almighty that should be stronger and must be on a regular basis. If you need, you pray for it, if you have most of it then pray to THANK the Almighty. But remember, always pray to thank, you'll be blessed again and again.

Talha Batla: Because we don’t have an option. It’s compulsory for all Muslims to pray.

Atif Abdul Qayyum Abbassi: Pray to stop falling prey to Satan.

Abdur Rehman Usmani: To thank for the blessings Allah SWT has bestowed upon us: wisdom, five senses, feeling the pleasure and pain, sentiments that stimulate us to care and share. Above all master of our will, dreams and to turn those into a reality; imagine, create and do amazing things in a different way. So why not thank him and be a thankful person.

Abdur Rehman Usmani: Thank you for a nice reminder to be thankful to the ALLAH SWT. Nice thought provoking question. Jazak'ALLAH Khairan (May Allah reward you with good).

Muhammad Jamal Shaikh: Because we forget!

Mahi Khan: To thank GOD for giving us such a beautiful life.

Danish Shakil: Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Indeed, when one of you prays, he speaks privately with his Lord.” The Prophet once asked his companions: “Do you think if there was a river by the door and one of you bathed in it five times a day; would there remain any dirt on him?” The Prophet’s companions answered in the negative. The Prophet then said: “That is how it is with the five (daily) prayers; through them God washes away your sins.”
A translation of the call to prayer:
God is Greater, God is Greater;
God is Greater, God is Greater.
I testify that there is no deity except God;
I testify that there is no deity except God.
I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God; I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
Come to prayer! Come to prayer!
Come to success! Come to success!
God is Greater! God is Greater!
There is no deity except God.

Muhammad Saeed Shaikh: To thank Allah.

Nazzia Momina: To connect with Allah and to move ahead in the spiritual world.

Omer Bilal: Everyone’s right, but only with a religious point of view! If you are asking for a personal opinion, I would say the most sensible explanation could be that it’s a way to keep us on track! To keep us reminded that there is a God! We are humans, we evolve and we change so God made the Quran and prayers, so we recite them just so we don’t forget! He doesn't need our prayers or anything, he is God, but he wants us to know that he exists, and the only way he can make sure we don’t forget is through making prayers mandatory for us!

It’s merely just an exercise! Otherwise if he didn’t make it mandatory we wouldn’t have taken it seriously and if we wouldn’t have taken it seriously, by now there would have been no Muslims left in this world!

God never makes a man do something that doesn't make any sense! There’s always a science behind everything! For people like us who are curious and the religious perspective doesn’t satisfy us enough! As many people have said, we just have to do it, or it’s a way to connect to God, or to thank him for his blessings! It’s all good and they are right, but sometimes it’s not enough! At least for me it’s not and I’m sure you asked this question for the same reason!

Salar Gujjar: To satisfy our soul and to thank for all we have.

Nusrat Waheed Khwaja: Allah Ta’ala obligated this exercise on Muslims for their own benefit. It’s a form of yoga. It’s for our benefit. It’s good for our body and for our spirit. Allah is not gaining anything from it. Allah Ta’ala says in the Quran words to the effect: "Let Salat (Namaaz/prayer) help you". Ta’ala means most high.

Shmuel Aharon Kam: G-d does NOT need our prayers. But WE do need them.
We pray to remind *ourselves* that G-d is Everything, and that we are G-d's Will and here to do G-d's Will. Insha'Allah.

Umema Hani: @Shmuel Aharon Kam. Allah does NOT need our prayers. But WE do need them. We pray to remind *ourselves* that Allah is Everything, and that we are Allah's Will and here to do Allah's Will. Insha'Allah (God Willing).

Mohaib Arif: Because we know there is someone (God) who will listen and respond to our prayer. That's why we pray.

Premium Domains: Apart from being one of the five pillars that makes you a Muslim, you should pray to ask for forgiveness, so that you stay on the right track and pray because you want to, not because you have to. It has to come from within.

Kumail Kazim Nisar Moosa: Blessings are also on non-believers also... so what about them?

Susan McKenzie: If you mean non-Muslims (Christians/Jews) - we pray. If you are talking about people who say they don't practice a religion - they may in reality be practicing. Some people in the West are very quiet as to how they practice their religion. Some Buddhists have a saying - Anyone can go to heaven - just be good. Blessings.

Karen Allawala: Ahsan, have you been to a Church or Jewish house of worship? I have and they all submit to Allah. The Jews dove and and the Christians go down on bended knee and I assure you their prayers are done with intensity and equally heard by Allah.

Susan McKenzie: To add to Karen Allahwalla's comment - in the churches I attended - we would pray kneeling and there are cushions for the knees. I think what is more important is the intention - the mind aspect. Jesus prayed when standing and also knelt to pray. What is important is what is in your heart. I respect Muslims who do pray in the way you do - I think it helps to humble the heart. However, I think the Christian way is valid for Christians if they humble their heart and are sincere.

Christian prayer positions
www.kencollins.com/worship/pray-20.htm

THE GIFT OF PRAYING
The head of the Catholic Church says prayer is a gift. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdjmAr_105o

Susan McKenzie:Every thought is a prayer - that is why we should be careful as to what we pray - we are praying all the time.