And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (51:56 Quran)
When you go up this morning was it in your own bed? Do you have a nice comfy mattress, fluffy pillows and a few warm blankets? Have you realized some people sleep in cardboard boxes on concrete exposed to the elements?
When you woke this morning, did you get some coffee? Maybe a bagel, maybe even a multi course meal? Cereal, toast, eggs and a couple of pancakes? While you anticipate whats for lunch did you know there are a billion people who are lucky to eat once a day, if that?
What did you do after breakfast? Turn on a $1000 computer while more then a billion people live on a dollar a day, if that? Maybe you access VC with an expensive Samsung phone, maybe you're lucky enough to have a $1000 Apple phone? Its kinda crazy because many who make apple products are literally slave labor, lucky to make a few dollars weekly working unfathomable hours in absolutely horrible conditions.
Would you like me to extend and compound on this?
Your job, your family, your house, your friends, your kids. Even your very health. The fact that you had energy to get out of bed, the fact that you have lived yet another day are all gifts from the Almighty. The reality is your heart does not beat without His permission.
Your water is not bitter simply because He allows it. Water alone is a massive blessing the entire creation relies upon.
"Have you seen the water that you drink? Is it you who brought it down from the clouds or is it We who bring it down?
If We willed, we could’ve made it bitter, so why aren’t you grateful?" (56:68-70 Quran)
Have you ever considered what life would be like without water? Many are predicting the future will be wars fought over water, may we not be alive in those times. With the internet using up massive quantities of water, its turning into a reality. What would you do if clear, clean water was not freely available from your tap on command?
What is the point of all of this?
Prayer in and of itself is worship. It is remembrance of the Almighty. It is the acknowledgement that absolute control rests with Him and Him
alone. We connect with the Sustainer, the Maintainer, the Creator with prayer.
Prayer in itself, is gratitude. It is being thankful for the uncountable blessings we receive every single day. Have you ever sat and thought of all the blessings in your life, have you tried to count them? It is not possible to count them all, but have you ever tried?
Sure, people ask the Almighty for all kinds of things in prayer in all kinds of religions. What the Creator decided from the beginning is Qadr, otherwise known as divine decree. Do you think the Almighty didn't know that little Johnny was gonna ask for a red bike on January the 5th, 1949? Do you think He was unaware of an area that was suffering from drought desperate for water which caused many to pray for rain?
And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darkness of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record. (6:59 Quran)
The Almighty is the possessor of absolute, all encompassing knowledge.
Have you not considered that Allah knows what is in the heavens and what is on the earth? There is in no private conversation three but that He is the fourth of them, nor are there five but that He is the sixth of them - and no less than that and no more except that He is with them [in knowledge] wherever they are (58:7 Quran)
From the very beginning up until the last second before judgement day the Almighty knows exactly what will happen. Can prayer change qadr? Yes of course, but that change was written from the very beginning. God knew it and was well aware of it centuries before that idea ever popped into your head.
God has complete and all encompassing knowledge. This is why Jesus not knowing the time of the hour is problematic as the Almighty is
thee source of knowledge. God knows you better then you know yourself.
Indeed We have created man, and We know whatever thoughts his inner self develops, and We are closer to him than (his) jugular vein
(50:60 quran)
God is literally the source of everything. The Alpha and the Omega. The First and the Last. The Beginning and the End. He is
your protector. He is
your provider. He is the one who feeds
you and grants
you shelter. He is the one who put those clothes on
your back. He is the one who keeps
you safe from harm.
When is the last time you said.. thank you?
If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more (14:7 Quran)
And whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allah.” (16:53)