For the love of God...

"In the highest prayer, men pray only for the love of God, not because they fear Him or Hell, or hope for bounty or heaven... The spiritual man finds no delight in anything save in commemoration of God."

(Abdu'l-Bahá, Lights of Guidance, p. 462)

I pray every day, but somehow I do not always feel that I am doing it very well. The above quote sums up my thoughts exactly. I think I don't always pray with a purity of heart that truly represents my love for God. Often, my mind even wanders while I am praying and I know that can't be right. ;-)

I think I need to learn to maybe just breathe, be silent and meditate for a while before I even start praying. That might help. I really want to get better at it.

I strongly believe that praying is important. That is how you grow closer to God and develop spiritual qualities - in those quiet reflective moments of communion with the Almighty. Whether they be written prayers recited from a book or spontaneous ones free-flowing from my heart, praying is truly a gift from God.

I have some quotes on praying below. What do you think? Do you have any thoughts on praying or quotes to share from other traditions?

"The wisdom of prayer is this: That it causeth a connection between the servant and the True One, because in that state (i.e., prayer) man with all heart and soul turneth his face towards His Highness the Almighty, seeking His association and desiring His love and compassion. The greatest happiness for a lover is to converse with his beloved, and the greatest gift for a seeker is to become familiar with the object of his longing; that is why with every soul who is attracted to the Kingdom of God, his greatest hope is to find an opportunity to entreat and supplicate before his Beloved, appeal for His mercy and grace and be immersed in the ocean of His utterance, goodness and generosity."

(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v3, p. 683)

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

(King James Bible, Matthew)

"Eating or sacrificing, giving gifts,
Praying or fasting, let it all be done
For Me, as Mine. So shalt thou free thyself
From Karmabandh, the chain which holdeth men
To good and evil issue, so shalt come
Safe unto Me- when thou art quit of flesh-
By faith and abdication joined to Me!"

(Hindu, Bhagavad Gita (Edwin Arnold tr))

"Recite what has been- revealed to thee of the Book; and be steadfast in prayer; verily, prayer forbids sin and wrong; and surely the mention of God is greater; for God knows what ye do."

(The Qur'an (E.H. Palmer tr), Sura 29 - The Spider)

"We worship this earth; we worship those heavens;
We worship those good things that stand between (the earth and
the heavens) and that are worthy of sacrifice and prayer and are
to be worshipped by the faithful man."

(The Zend-Avesta, Khorda Avesta - Book of Common Prayer pt. 1)