The power of prayer
Posted by Ahmed Mustafa , Wednesday, June 9, 2010 4:55 AM
"prayer is not a spare wheel that you pull out when in trouble, but instead, should be used as a steering wheel, that gives you a direction in life"
Sometimes you need such golden words to jolt you back towards your values, and i thank Allah that i have friends and family that keep reminding me of His power and all that we owe Him.
Ive always been a muslim by default - i say that because many of us just got lucky by being born in Muslim homes. Ive always believed that I am a spiritual person (after hearing Lady Gagas recent interview in which she said she was a spiritual person im looking for a new word to describe my current behaviour) and understand what God has in store for me. There have been a number of times that Allah has bestowed his miracles on me, and ive been hugely lucky that way.
There have also been many times where ive wanted to return to Allahs fold and become a better practising muslim. However, of those times, my failure to submit to His glory has either been marred by laziness, or a fear that im just not doing enough to please Him.
When in the hostel masjid today I saw one of the new talent hunt sindhi juniors reading a Quran which had english translation, and thats when i was hit by a bout of nostalgia. I donated that Quran to the hostel when i left it in 2006 and it had a hand written message from my grandmother on it. Sure its a great namesake for my family, but somhow Ive always thought that donating it to the hostel masjid would affect people on a wider scale.
And thats why i call myself spiritual, because I believe that God is always on my side even in the most difficult of times. Not because im a very practicing muslim, but because of the small kindnesses and acts of charity that i remember to do on a daily basis. It is a very strong value that my parents have instilled in me and I keep it very close to my heart.
Having said that, i plan to get back into the practice of saying my prayers. Not because im scared, but because I want to, and that in my opinion is the best way to start!
the best way to start praying is...simply to start praying. by prioritizing it. it's a bit like quitting smoking in that it involves a lot of self discipline. you wrote this post over a week ago - how has the week gone?