How to Talk with God? (Part 1)
God communicated with prophets through direct speech, like in the case of Moses (peace be upon him) so that in Islam he was entitled ''Kalimullah'' or the one who always talked to God.
The Qur’an says what means:
{Allah talked to Moses.} (An-Nisaa' 4:164)
Or He communicated with them through indirect speech (revelation), like in the case of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Qur’an says:
{And unto you have We revealed the Scripture (Qur’an) with the truth confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it.} (Al-Ma'idah5:48)
And:
{Lo! We, it is who have revealed the Reminder (Qur’an), and lo! We will guard it.} (Al-Hijr 15:9)
In the context of our humble human level, although we are not angels or prophets, yet, in His wisdom, God does not keep Himself aloof from us, but He makes Himself easy to reach, and makes communication with Him accessible through a variety of ways that Islam has fully described to us.
Praying and reading the Qur’an are two ways of opening a dialogue with the Almighty. It says in the Islamic tradition that if you want God to talk to you, read the Qur’an. If you want to talk to God, pray (supplicate) to Him.
In normal protocols, it is the role of the one in the greater position to end the dialogue and terminate the meeting. But in God's protocol, out of His infinite mercy and compassion to His servants, He leaves it to us to decide when to end up the dialogue and terminate our meeting with Him, when we decide to finish up the prayers or stop reading the Qur’an. If one wants to continue staying in His Holy presence even for days and nights one will never be dismissed.
Take reciting Al-Fatihah (the opening chapter of Qur’an that Muslims repeatedly recite more than twenty times a day during their Prayers) as an example. It is not meant to be a monotonous monologue by the believer who recites it, but Allah has made it a warm, loving conversation between Him and the worshipper.
The Messenger of Allah reported that Allah Almighty says:
''When my slave says in his prayer: 'All praise is for Allah, the Lord of the worlds,' I say: 'My slave has praised Me' When he says: 'The Merciful, the Compassionate, Master of the Day of Judgment,' I say: 'My slave has glorified Me.' When he says: 'You Alone we worship and your Aid we seek,' I say: 'This is between Me and My slave.' When he says: 'Show us the Straight Path,' I say: 'This is for My slave, and I give My slave what he wants.''
Again, contemplate the Prophet's saying: ''The Prayer is the Miraj of the Believer.'' ''Miraj'' is the magnificent journey in which the Prophet Muhammad was invited to meet God – without seeing Him – and have the honor of approaching His Holy Throne. This journey is considered the best manifestation of God's close communication with any Human being since the dawn of humanity till the Day of Judgment.
It was a privilege that God only gave to the noblest of the nobles among the human race. But because God is the Most Merciful, He doesn't want to deprive His sincere worshippers from this privilege of close contact with Him. Thus He decrees that the possibility of this interaction between Him and the worshipper, which happens during Prayers, becomes exactly like the interaction that happened between Him and His Prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey.
Source: islamiclife.com
Other links:
How do we know Allah (SWT) is satisfied with us?
Five Fingers of Du’aa
Thanksgiving
