I can understand prayer if the purpose is to talk to your deity and form an intimate relatinship, but I don't understand the other reasons. I'll use the Christian god, for example, but that is the one I am most familiar with and grew up with. If it is true that God is omnipotent, then doesn't It already know what's bound to happen long before the universe was ever conceived? So what would be the point in praying to It and asking It to change a situation, or create a situation that is favourable to a person? I mean, if God created the universe and knows what's going to happen, then it is pretty much destined that it will happen that way, and no amount of praying will change it. Just wondering.....

The main purpose of prayer is to worship God...not ask for favors.

If the reason I stopped you on the street is to give you a compliment, it doesn't matter what type of favors you do for me....as long as I got a chance to compliment you the goal was achieved.

I am glad you asked this question.

Now you see man was created powerless and is indeed in poverty in every sense of the word. This is a reality which is very difficult to accept for most of us. We might know this being the case theoretically but deep down we tend to be in denial and seek comfort in things or materials which we could lose at any minute.

We might be proud of our intelligent minds but the moment we are struck with mental illness we have nothing to show for. We might be proud of physical beauty or strength but the moment these things go away through illness or ageing we become pathetic. We might be proud of the influence over the powerful people we know but you and everybody knows human beings can be very fickle indeed and tend to have selfish motives behind them and do not really love you as they claim to love you.

The idea hereis there is nothing in this world which we might take as a source of comfort thatguarantees you protection 100%. People of deep faith call these comforts ofillusion as false gods. You see when you think that money will guarantee you this and that then be sure that your false god is money same implies to other issues.

So adverse events serve as a reminder to man that he is powerless andthey areindeed a test. Like any test one needs to know the best way to meet that test and this where man realises his helpnesness and seek help from the All powerful God.

Now if the will of that man matches the will of God his prayer will be met according to what the man asks however if the will of that man does not match the will of God his prayer will not be answered. Man wills only if God wills.

Sometimes man may ask God and find that his prayer is not being answered. The islamic belief is that Allah provides that which He think is best for his servants who have submitted to Him. If wealth will do you more harm than poverty then poverty is what is best for that servant and this is the secret of trusting fully inthe wisdom of Allah. Sometimes the very prayer is answered but there is a time delay in response and that delay could take to few years or may even extend to the next life. Because indeed Allah is the answerer to all prayers.

Please also note prayer should not be the reason for you to stop taking active action in the situation because confronting situations with honest efforts and trust in Allah is also a part of faith. Because Allah rewards those who strive on his path and the wage of the doer of good never goes to waste. Your provision for this world is guaranteed however there is also reward in asking for Allah for more provision and working for an honestliving.

Some scholars of faith are of the view which i support that prayers are not the reason for one to get Allah's blessings and mercy they merely act as a net to catch this mercy. A net is not the reason for you to catch fish net is merely there to catch fish once it passes if you do not put a net your chances of catching fish come to nil. So to receive goodness you have to be in a state of goodness and prayer is a state of goodness.

Some of these thingsyoumight think defy humanlogic,my reply to this is that it is an issue of growth. The more you know Allah the more you will realise He is an all powerful Lord whose mercy is limitless and provides according to his wisdom. And man is put on earth to know his Creator. Andhe works according toHis own logic simply because Heknows more.

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Iolite wrote:

B-Matta

Iolite, I thought part of your point may have been that an omnipotent being wouldn't need complimenting? So prayer for the purposes of complimenting is a human device which is of NO importance to that omnipotent being. That is, whether you pray or not for such a purpose makes no difference "in the eyes of god". (I'm not religious btw. Just stirring the murky waters).

smoking-devilLol...The water wasn't murky until YOU got in!

The fact that God is omnipotent has little to do with YOU showing appreciation.

If you gave your 4 year old son a piece of candy and he says "thank you daddy"...that doesn't negate the fact that you know nearly everything about him since his existance.

That was just him showing gratitude.

pray in Islam is not for asking for favors Omar is right

When i tell people "listen i got to go an pray (and I do because it is Magrib)" they say "what you praying and asking for"

I laught because Islam is different

We pray to remember the creator and in this remberance reflect on our charecter and responsiblity as human beings.

B-Matta

So prayer for the purposes of complimenting is a human device which is of NO importance to that omnipotent being.

There is a difference between being of no need and being of no importance.

Part of our duties as Muslims is establishing regular prayer to the Creator. It's one of the things He judges us by....therefore it's important.

It's important that I know what's on my son's report card, but I don't NEED it to survive or maintain.

Black Matta

Are you saying that your creator judges you on whether or not you have complimented him?

blkfingerwagNuh uh...I didn't say that.

Read carefully now...lest you miss something.

I said part of our duties as Muslims is establishing regular prayer to the Creator. It's one of the things He judges us by...

I didn't say we were judge by how much we complinent Him, ONE of the things He judges us by are our PRAYERS.

to me prayer is just giving thanks....acknowledging what is already there for me to receive..

Prayer helps deepen my relationship with Jesus. I can talk to God about nething and He listens to me and hears me. and I love Him

i hope this will not turn into a mulim vs whoever fight....