Prayer is the most basic form of communication between human beings and God. It is a unique type of communication where a human being presents himself or herself before God and seeks His Grace and Mercy with utter humility. And God responds either through the acceptance of the prayer and directly acting in the person’s life to fulfill his desire, or by disclosing His acceptance through visions or dreams, or even by directly bestowing revelations to him or her. In the Holy Quran, Allah says:

قَدۡ اَفۡلَحَ الۡمُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ ۙ﴿۲﴾  الَّذِیۡنَ ہُمۡ فِیۡ صَلَاتِہِمۡ خٰشِعُوۡنَ ۙ﴿۳﴾

That is, “Success does come to the believers, who are humble in their prayers” (Holy Quran, 23:2-3). In other words, according to the Quran, prayer is a means to success. What is required is that we are patient and persevere. Ultimately, success does indeed follow and can come in a variety of ways.

One way is that it becomes a safeguard against vices, and restrains us against indecency and evil (Holy Quran, 29:46). Just the act of worship five times a day is enough of a distraction from evil works that it becomes a safeguard. The Holy Prophet Muhammad^(sa) once said that the five daily prayers are an expiation of sins, meaning that any sins committed in the time period between one prayer and the next are essentially purged when the person offers the next prayer.^[i] Similarly, he likened the five daily prayers to taking a shower five times a day, and said, “Allah wipes out the sins with them”.^[ii]

Another way that prayer helps is that it provides us comfort and anchors us in a world of so many distractions. The Quran reminds us:

اَلَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَ تَطۡمَئِنُّ قُلُوۡبُہُمۡ بِذِکۡرِ اللّٰہِ ؕ اَلَا بِذِکۡرِ اللّٰہِ تَطۡمَئِنُّ الۡقُلُوۡبُ ﴿ؕ۲۹﴾

That is, “Those who believe, and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Aye! It is in the remembrance of Allah that hearts can find comfort” (Holy Quran, 13:29). At the most basic level, prayer is good—even necessary—for sound mental health. The human mind is in a state of constant contemplation. No second goes by when we are not thinking, planning, and even becoming anxious due to our thoughts. Prayer is meant to clear our minds so that we leave all our worldly anxieties and find an inner peace. This is first done in the form of congregational prayer but also enjoyed through nawaafil—prayers offered in seclusion and privacy.

The ultimate goal is to seek a spiritual union with God. God is As-Salaam—the ultimate source of peace. A true, sincere relationship built with Him ensures that we also partake of that peace. As the Promised Messiah^(as) has said, “Our paradise lies in our God. Our highest delight is in our God for we have seen Him and found every beauty in Him”.^[iii]

References:

[i]. Sahih Muslim, The Book of Purification, Chapter: The five daily prayers… https://sunnah.com/muslim/2/18

[ii]. Jami’ At-Tirmidhi, Chapters on Parables. https://sunnah.com/urn/631010

[iii]. Noah’s Ark, p. 36