Mysteries on Prayer (1)

This is a continuation of the post, Wisdom from Talmud that discuss about why we may need to pray if God knows all? What are the other dimension regarding the need for prayer?

I'm a big fan of Sufi Master Inayat Khan. Time and time again i find my answers in his own thinking. So i would like to quote from Inayat Khan which is taken from the book, "A Sufi Master Answers: On the sufi message of Hazrat Inayat Khan", by Dr. Elisabeth Keesing.

Man often thinks that, as God is the Knower of the heart there can be no need of any recital or gesture in prayer; but that it would surely be sufficient if he were to sit in the silence and think of God. But this is not so; it is according to the extent of a man's consciousness of prayer that this prayer reaches God. If your body is still and only your mind is working, it means that part of your being is in prayer and part not; for man has both mind and body, so that the complete being must be praying. In reality God is within man; man is the instrument of God and through him God experiences the external world.

Prayer is the way of conveying the God within to the God without; and thought, speech and gesture make the prayer complete.

Man asks another question as to why God, Who knows already what he wants and what is the need of his life, should require to be asked at all. For answer to this we have the words of Christ; "Ask and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened unto you." In other words, this means that though God knows your need it has to become clear and definite to "yourself" by prayer.

In the next post i would like to post on: "Why does God need praise from me? Who am I that I should offer Him praise?"