Why is prayer important to all religions?

Answer 1

It is a Christian's way of communicating with God.

It is important because Christian's feel they need to communicate with their Heavenly Father.

By praying, Christians can talk to, take their troubles and needs to, and share their joys or sorrows with God. Christians love their God so are kind of obligated to pray, this might seem destresive but christians such as i dont mind

Answer 2

The importance of prayers cannot be overstated. It is the individual believer's way to personally communicate with God, whoever that believer happens to believe He is, and through whatever faith the believer chooses to express his beliefs.

Answer 3

Praise be to Allaah.

The importance of the prayer in Islam cannot be understated. It is the first pillar of Islam that the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned after mentioning the testimony of faith, by which one becomes a Muslim. It was made obligatory upon all the prophets and for all peoples. Allah has declared its obligatory status under majestic circumstances. For example, when Allah spoke directly to Moses, He said,

"And I have chosen you, so listen to that which is inspired to you. Verily, I am Allah! There is none worthy of worship but I, so worship Me and offer prayer perfectly for My remembrance." [Taha 13-14]

Similarly, the prayers were made obligatory upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during his ascension to heaven. Furthermore, when Allah praises the believers, such as in the beginning of surah al-Muminoon, one of the first descriptions He states is their adherence to the prayers.

Once a man asked the Prohpet (peace be upon him) about the most virtuous deed. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that the most virtuous deed is the prayer. The man asked again and again. The first three times, the Prophet (peace be upon him) again answered, "The prayer," then on the fourth occasion he stated, "Jihad in the way of Allah." [This is form a hadith recorded by Ahmad and ibn Hibban. According to al-Albani, the hadith is hasan. Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Sahih al-Targheeb WA al-Tarheeb (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1982), vol. 1, p. 150]

The importance of prayer is demonstrated in the many of the Prophet's statement. For example, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

"The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer. If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound. And if it is bad, then the rest of his deeds will be bad." [Recorded by al-Tabarani. According to al-Albani, it is sahih. Al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami, vol.1, p. 503.

The importance of the prayers lies in the fact that no matter what actions one performs in his life, the msot important aspect is one's relationship to Allah, that is, one's faith (imaan), God-consciousness (taqwa), sincerity (ikhlas) and worship of Allah (`ibaadah). This relationship with Allah is both demonstrated and put into practice, as well as improved and increased, by the prayer. Therefore, if the prayers are sound and proper, the rest of the deeds will be sound and proper; and if the prayers are not sound and proper, then the rest of the deeds will not be sound and proper, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself stated.

In reality, the prayer is performed properly - with true remembrance of Allah and turning to Him for forgiveness - it will have a lasting effect on the person. After he finishes the prayer, his heart will be filled with the remembrance of Allah. He will be fearful as well as hopeful of Allah. After that experience, he will not want to move from that lofty position to one wherein he disobeys Allah. Allah has mentioned this aspect of the prayer when He has said,

"Verily, the prayer keeps one from the great sins and evil deeds" (al-Ankaboot 45). Nadwi has described this effect in the following eloquent way,

Its aim is to generate within the subliminal self of man such spiritual power, light of faith and awareness of God as can enable him to strive successfully against all kinds of evils and temptations and remain steadfast at times of trial and adversity and protect himself against the weakness of the flesh and the mischief of immoderate appetites. [Nadwi, p. 24]

The overall affect that the properly performed prayers should have upon humans is described in other verses in the Quran:

"Verily, man was created impatient, irritable when evil touches him and niggardly when good touches him. Except for those devoted to prayer those who remain constant in their prayers…" (al-Maarij 19-23).

As for the Hereafter, Allah's forgiveness and pleasure is closely related to the prayers. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,

"Allah has obligated five prayers. Whoever excellently performs their ablutions, prays them in their proper times, completes their bows, prostrations and khushu` [Khushu` in the prayer is where the person's heart is attuned to the prayer. This feeling in the heart is then reflected on the body. The person remains still and calm. His gaze is also lowered. Even his voice is affected by this feeling in the heart. For more details on this concept (as well as the difference between it and khudhu`), see Muhammad al-Shaayi, al-Furooq al-Laughawiyyah WA Atharahaa fi Tafseer al-Quran al-Kareem (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ubaikaan, 1993), pp. 249-254.] has a promise from Allah that He will forgive him. And whoever does not do that has no promise from Allah. He may either forgive him or punish him." [Recorded by Malik, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-NASA'I and others. According to al-Albani, it is sahih. Al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami, vol. 1, p. 616.] ]

The prayers are a type of purification for a human being. He turns and meets with his Lord five times a day. As alluded to above, this repeated standing in front of Allah should keep the person from performing sins during the day. Furthermore, it should also be a time of remorse and repentance, such that he earnestly asks Allah for forgiveness for those sins that he committed. In addition, the prayer in itself is a good deed that wipes away some of the evil deeds that he performed. These points can be noted in the following hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

"If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do you think he would have any filth left on him?" The people said, "No filth would remain on him whatsoever." The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, "That is like the five daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

"The five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for what is between them." (Recorded by Muslim

Answer 4

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Catholic AnswerPrayer is NOT "important", prayer is the over-riding necessity. Without prayer there is no life in us. Without prayer, the sacraments cannot have their effect. Without prayer there is no Christian life. Or to quote the great St. Alphonsus Liguori: "Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned."

from

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994

2744

Prayer is a vital necessity. Proof from the contrary is no less convincing: if we do not allow the Spirit to lead us, we fall back into the slavery of sin. (Cf. Gal 5:16-25) How can the Holy Spirit be our life if our heart is far from him?

Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult, easy . . . for it is impossible, utterly impossible, for the man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin. (St. John Chrysostom, De Anna 4, 5: J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca {Paris, 1857-1866} 54, 666).

Those who pray are certainly saved; Those who do not pray are certainly damned. (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Del gran mezzo della preghiera.)

Answer 5

Prayer is important to all religions because true prayer is communication with God. It is not only talking to God, asking God for gifts, asking God to solve problems but also listening to God, to feel God's Divine presence in the temple of our heart. God is not living somewhere on a distant planet or star, God is here, God is now. God is everywhere, in everything. Unfortunately, we don't know the meaning of God - who, where, what is God? Therefore our prayers are not focused, our prayers don't have true meaning. But all religions teach us to pray because it is prayer that will make us realize God; it is prayer that will make us close to God; it is prayer that will make us overcome our ignorance and be inspired with the Truth to realize we are the Divine Spirit, the Soul or the Atman.

Answer 6

Prayer is communication with God, therefore prayer is very, very important. But before we understand why it is important, we must understand who is God, where is God, what is God. If we don't understand God and we pray, then we don't pray, we just bray. Therefore, we must know that God is not one who lives in a temple and a church. We must go in search to discover God in the temple of our heart. God is within, God is everywhere, in everything. When we realize the God within, and we communicate with that God, not just keep asking for things or complaining or crying, but actually loving God, listening to God, then that true prayer transforms our life, it liberates us from all misery and sorrow, it liberates us from rebirth and unites us with God at death. Therefore prayer is key, it is the most important thing in the life.

Answer 7

Prayer isn't important at all, it's the directional thinking that makes a difference.

Answer 8

prayer is when you prey to god about somthing and it is important to some people to prey especially if you are cathlic

Answer 9

Prayer is communication. Your question is like asking why communication with loved ones is important. The answer should be obvious.