Don't just pray, work at getting your prayers answered

My girlfriend Yogi shared with me this poem, which I felt hit home so profoundly.

To me the poem offered a solution to all the above woes we moan and groan about. I hope you will share my sentiments as well.

I knelt to pray when day was done, and prayed, “O Lord, bless everyone; Lift from each saddened heart the pain and let the sick be well again.”

And then I awoke another day and carelessly went on my way.

The whole day long I did not try to wipe a tear from any eye; I did not try to share the load of any brother on the road; I did not even go to see the sick man just next door to me.

Yet once again when day was done, I prayed, “O Lord, bless everyone.”

But as I prayed, into my ear there came a whisper that whispered clear, “Pause, hypocrite before you pray; whom have you tried to bless today? God’s sweetest blessings always go by hands that serve Him here below.”

And then I hid my face and cried, “Forgive me, Lord for I have lied: Let me live another day and I will live the way I pray. —Anonymous.

The answer is in living the way we pray. If we pray for troubles to be eased, for the sick to be healed, we must in some way be proactive in ensuring our prayers are answered; we must offer and extend ourselves in service to ensure the hungry are fed and the down-trodden are uplifted. 

If we complain that the children are rude, we must in some way help that child to change, as the words of the song goes we must “reach out and touch somebody’s hand make this world a better place if you can”.

Indeed, we become hypocrites if we just give lip service to the state of affairs we so quickly and constantly complain about.

A prayer that all should recite is: “O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the knowledge which is not beneficial ... and from desire which is not satisfied, and from prayer which is not answered”

Indeed, everything we do should be of benefit and service to others.

In Islam we are taught that our religion is our way of life. All that we do should be a testament to our living. In other words, we should as the poem says, “live the way we pray”.

By living the life we pray we only can benefit from it; we should pray for others and then be pro-active in ensuring that if required we are there to assist. We must be angels to one another.

Consider this hadith of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who said: “Whenever you make a supplication for another believer and he is not present, an angel will say ‘same to you’.

A perfect example is what happened last Sunday with one of my friends. On visiting a church and hearing a most dynamic sermon, was feeling very uplifted after the service.

On getting in her car, she realized that one of the elder churchgoers was scurrying along to the bus stop in the chilly, windy weather. My friend offered her a ride home.

The lady immediately told her that she was going really far and out of my friend’s way; needless to say, my friend insisted that she take her home. Well, how elated and grateful the lady was and sat back to enjoy the drive.

My friend displayed the spirit of prayer – she eased the way of the wayfarer. Is this not the way we should be?  However, what saddened me on hearing this, which I shared with my friend, was that the other church members who attended the same congregation drove off in their fine and fancy cars without one consideration of their elder church sister. 

This indeed for me was an example of prayer without benefit. Though the sermon was dynamic and the prayers sanctimonious — the lesson of the sermon was not learnt; rather the words rang loud and clear “pause hypocrite before you pray, whom have you tried to bless today?”

To me the congregation fell down in allowing this elderly sister to catch a bus on a cold and windy day. This lady should be treated with the highest regard.

The Prophet (pbuh) said the believer should comfort the broken hearted, be gentle to the weak and the needy, console the poor, be lenient with the insolvent, and lend to those who ask you.

The Prophet (pbuh) further said: “The one who consoles a man stricken by adversity, that is, helps him endure patiently, has a reward.” Allah has promised that He will assist His servant for as long as His servant assists his fellowman.

In Surah An-Nisaa 4:40: “Allah is never unjust in the least degree: if there is any good (done), He doubles it, and gives from His Own Presence a great reward.”

Benefit indeed. Ameen.