O thou spiritual friend! Thou hast asked the wisdom of prayer. Know thou
that prayer is indispensable and obligatory, and man under no pretext
whatsoever is excused from performing the prayer unless he be mentally
unsound, or an insurmountable obstacle prevent him. The wisdom of prayer
is this: That it causeth a connection between the servant and the True
One, because in that state 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.
Besides all this, prayer and fasting is the cause of awakening and
mindfulness and conducive to protection and preservation from tests....